Digimon DECA
by twilight wolf writer
Summary: DECA, Digital Emergency Containment Agents, this group’s job, to contain wild Digimon in the real world. However, what happens when the Digimon numbers grow in the real world. Is there more to this problem than meets the eye? R & R
1. Ch 1 Encounter

_I do not own the rights to Digimon or anything of that franchise_.

_**CH. 1Encounter**_

The downtown area of Cyber City was its usual, hurried self. Cars zipped by to and fro, from destination to destination. People filled the sidewalks as they carried out their daily business. Cody strolled down the street in his usual manner, backpack over his shoulder. His clothes matched his personality-carefree. All he had on was a pair of blue jeans, tee shirt, and baseball cap. Cody made his way to the city's central park. He had planned to meet up with a few friends to play baseball for the afternoon. The trees kept the stoned road paths cool under their extending shadows. Cody reached the field and searched for his friends. He found a few of them waiting next to a set of bleachers.

"Hey guys! What's up?" yelled Cody, heading over to meet his friends.

"Nothing much man," replied one of them. Cody approached to find four of his friends waiting for him. They all were in pretty much the same attire as him, the only variation being the colors.

"Where are the others?" asked Cody.

"Still getting here, apparently" was the reply.

"Let's warm up then," said another. The group proceeded to the field to practice a bit.

"It doesn't end does it? The paper work just doesn't end."

"Oh Albert, you'll get used to it. All Digital ADAS have to do this kind of work. Since you're a leader now you will have to be doing this kind of stuff a lot, plus more." said a female voice with a laugh.

Albert was a teenage boy with short black hair and a pair of thin glasses. He wore a blue vest with a black undershirt and a pair of black cargo pants. The back of his vest had the symbol of a howling wolf. "Maybe I should have just stayed an agent," said Albert sarcastically, still working through the pile of papers before him.

"Heehee. You'll get used to it." said the female figure, leaving the room. Albert sat alone working on the papers. The door to the room opened as two more figures walked into the room. He quickly stood up when they entered the room and saluted them "Good afternoon Commander Aria and Commander Titan." The two figures returned the gesture and beckoned Albert to sit back down.

"So how do you like the promotion?" asked Commander Aria. Her uniform was a long green jacket with a black trim. She had blond hair tied back into a bun and looked very young but much older than Albert.

"I liked it until I saw how much paper work I had to do. Why didn't you tell me about this?" he asked, shuffling through the papers.

"It comes with the territory of moving up the line. ADAS have a lot more work and responsibilities to do than those of a normal DECA agent," said Commander Titan. He was massive in build with a yellow jacket with black trim as his uniform. His hair was had a buzz cut and he wore a pair of dark sunglasses.

"You'll get used to it. Have fun, we have a meeting to get to with the other Commanders." said Commander Aria, exiting the room with Commander Titan. Albert just sighed and returned to work.

The sun was setting into the horizon. A few stars were poking out into the luminous night sky. Cody had finished his game and was returning home with two of his friends, Eric and JR. Both of them were physically fit for their age. Eric wore a pair of glasses and had spiked black hair while JR was a bit taller, longer black hair, and had a lighter skin color.

"That was a great game," said Eric.

"Yeah, we whooped that team," added JR.

"Can't wait till we get to play again next week" said Cody. The trio made their way through the park, which was mostly kept illuminated by the street lamps above. They stopped when the lights above started to flicker on and off.

"Darnn lights are always faulty," growled Eric, staring up at the lights. The trio continued on their way through the park, the lights still flickering on and off. The group halted again when they heard a low howling sound. The sound came closer and closer as if approaching them. A dark figure leapt up into the air and stood before the trio, howling. They halted and stared at the figure.

"What is that thing?" said Cody as he examined the creature. It had yellow fur and resembled an ape. The figure was tall and held a long white club in its hand.

"It's a Digimon," said JR, reaching to his waist but then halted. Eric did the same but they both stopped.

"Let me guess, you don't have your Digivice?" asked Eric nervously as he backed away from the creature.

"No, it's my day off and the DECA kept it to examine my partner after our last mission," said JR, doing the same.

"What the heck are you two talking about?" asked Cody in confusion.

"Nothing, just run!" yelled Eric, taking off, JR and Cody following close behind. The Digimon pursued them through the park.

"Alert! Alert! Digimon detected in Central Park!" barked the siren.

"Great. I was hoping for a quiet night," said Albert, checking the main computer screen. Commander Aria burst into the room and approached the screen, calling up a program on the computer that revealed a picture of a Digimon.

"Apemon, a champion beast type Digimon. Has an attack called Mega Bone Stick to pound his enemies. Albert…" started Commander Aria.

"I'm on it" said Albert, exiting the room.

"Diandra is close by and on duty so I'll tell her to meet you there," said Commander Aria, still on the computer.

Cody, JR, and Eric continued to make their way through the park, trying to escape the pursuing Digimon.

"What is that thing?" said Cody as he and the others continued running.

"It's a Digimon, don't think it's nice though" said JR.

"Man I wish I had my Digivice," Eric added.

There was no escaping the Digimon. The creature kept following the trio as they sprinted through the forest. It threw his bone club like a boomerang, striking Eric in his back. Eric collapsed to the ground in pain.

"Eric!" yelled both Cody and JR. Eric could just groan in pain.

"I... can't… move… It hurts too much…" groaned Eric. The creature just stopped and howled at them as it slowly approached. Cody charged forward and tried to punch the creature. It leapt into the air, dodging the attack. Apemon landed behind Cody and charged for Eric. JR stood forward to stop the creature but was only clubbed on his head, knocking him unconscious.

"Get away from my friends!" yelled Cody, charging once more at the creature. Cody felt something surge through his body. It was like a warm surge of power reacting deep within him. He felt something appear in his hand. Cody examined the suddenly-appearing device in his hand. The Device looked similar to a cell phone but unopened. A small, white ring was on one end of the Device to allow it to be clipped to a belt loop. The front side of the Digivice was red while the back was solid white. There were three white buttons below the screen.

"What's this thing?" asked Cody, staring into the device. The screen on the Device began to glow in a bright red, releasing a beam of light onto the ground. The light formed a small, orange, dinosaur like creature.

"Finally! I'm free and have my found my partner" said the creature in excitement.

"Partner?" asked Cody in confusion.

"Yep you and me will be working together. Um… what's your name?" asked the creature curiously.

"Cody…" answered Cody slowly.

"Cody. We'll nice to meet you. I'm Agumon," said the creature. Apemon let out another howl and charged for the two of them.

"Help me Digivolve Cody," said Agumon.

"What!?" said Cody.

"Digivolve. It'll help me defeat this Digimon." cried Agumon. Cody had no idea what to do. The creature charged forth preparing to strike with its club. Cody braced for an impact.

"Fox Tail Inferno!"

"Spiral Blow!"

Cody looked up to see that Apemon was knocked against the ground and two more Digimon had appeared, each with another human on their backs. One resembled a fox with yellow fur and white underbelly. A long red and white bow was tied around its neck. The other Digimon resembled a blue wolf with a white mane. Its fangs were showing from under the its lips as it growled at Apemon.

"Let's take this one out. Ready Diandra?" asked the figure on the wolf's back.

"Ready Albert," replied the figure on the fox's back.


	2. Ch 2 DECA

_**CH. 2 DECA**_

Both of the beasts' stood in between Apemon and his prey. Apemon stood frozen while the two beasts growled at it. They gently picked up Eric and JR's bodies in their mouths then leapt over to where Cody and Agumon stood. The two slowly placed JR and Eric back onto the ground while the two figures on their backs leapt off of them and landed on the ground. They both held devices similar to Cody's device in their hands. The only exception was that the boy's device was a dark, midnight blue color and the girls a bright, royal blue color. The girl had dirty blond hair and wore the same outfit as the boy.

"Gaogamon, let's seal up Apemon," said the boy, who Cody guessed was Albert.

"Kyubimon, you know what to do, protect the guys," said the girl, who was obviously Diandra.

"Right!" barked both of the Digimon as they attacked Apemon. Apemon frantically dodged their attacks. Gaogamon tried to take a bite out of him but was evaded. Kyubimon attempted to scratch Apemon but missed every time.

"If I could Digivolve I could help them," said Agumon. Cody still had no clue on what to do. Albert glanced over at Cody and realized that Cody held a Digivice in his fist and a Digimon by his side. Albert nudged Diandra in the ribs and pointed at Cody.

"He's got a Digivice and partner," said Albert.

"An Agumon, I wonder…" started Diandra. "Hey you!"

Cody turned to see Diandra calling him.

"Where did you get that Digivice?" yelled Diandra, running up to Cody.

Cody held up the Digivice "This thing? I have no idea I just wanted to help my friends and it appeared."

"If you want to help save Eric and JR just feel that same emotion you felt when the Digivice appeared." yelled Albert as he followed behind Diandra.

"How did you know their names?" asked Cody.

"I'll explain later. Just feel that power flow through you and then place your palm on the top of the Digivice like this," said Albert performing the movements.

"Then yell Digi-Charge," added Diandra.

"Like this?" said Cody, mimicking Albert's movements. Another rush of energy began to flow through Cody. A deep red aura began to from around his entire body.

"Yeah now say Digi-Charge and point the Digivice at Agumon," said Albert.

"Digi-Charge!" yelled Cody, pointing the Digivice in the direction of his newfound partner. The aura seemed to enter the Digivice then shoot forth toward Agumon. The beam hit Agumon, causing him to change forms.

_Agumon Digivolved to... GeoGreymon_

The light faded as Agumon stood in his new form, GeoGreymon. GeoGreymon was a much larger form of Agumon with blue stripes on the edges of his body. A brown skull was settled on his head while spikes stuck out from his arms. GeoGreymon let out a loud roar.

"Funny, I expected a Greymon, this is new…." said Albert, looking up at the creature.

"So did I," Diandra agreed.

Apemon stared at the beast and trembled. The creature tried to run away from GeoGreymon.

"Oh no you don't," said Gaogamon, stepping in front of Apemon. The Digimon was now trapped in between Gaogamon, Kyubimon, and GeoGreymon.

"Let him have it!" yelled Cody.

"Spiral Blow!" yelled Gaogamon, creating a swirling vortex of wind from his mouth.

"Foxtail Inferno!" yelled Kyubimon, releasing small blue flames from her tail.

"Mega Flare" yelled GeoGreymon, releasing a stream of fire from his mouth.

The three attacks collided with Apemon, who remained standing while a stream of data began to form around its body. The ring looked like it was made from several lines piled on top of each other, like a bar code.

"Ok, I'll end this. Digital Capture," said Albert pointing his Digivice at the ring. The ring began to take the form of a rectangle and encased Apemon's body. The light around Apemon began to glow brightly and reduce in size. The form began to gently float to Albert. The light subsided forming a card. The image of Apemon was imprinted on the card.

"That'll do it," said Diandra. Gaogamon, GeoGreymon, and Kyubimon began to glow and revert to a new form.

"Alright Gaomon, that's another Digimon down," said Albert.

"It was nothing," said Gaomon confidently. Gaomon looked similar to a wolf, with blue fur and a pair of red boxing gloves on each hand. A red headband was tied around his head as it flowed with the night breeze.

"Good work Renamon," said Diandra.

"Nothing to it" said Renamon with a slight bow. Renamon stood on two legs and was about the same height as Albert. She had yellow fur and two purple arm warmers on her arms.

"That was good… um… Agumon, right?" said Cody.

"Yep, I knew you could help me Digivolve," said Agumon with a smile. Cody smiled back then looked over at the guys who were currently being looked over the Diandra.

"How are they?" asked Cody.

"They're ok. Just a few bumps, but other than that they'll be fine" Diandra replied.

"Let's take them back to headquarters and get them fully examined," said Albert.

"I'll let Commander Aria know we're returning and to have the Medical Ward send an ambulance over," said Diandra, pulling out a cell phone.

"You two are coming with us" said Albert, looking over to Cody and Agumon. Cody and Agumon just looked at each other in confusion.

Albert, Cody, Diandra, Gaomon, Renamon, and Agumon all rode through the city in a dark blue jeep, Albert driving. An emblem was imprinted in gold on the front of the vehicle with the word DECA printed below the symbol. Cody wanted to go in the ambulance so he could see how Eric and JR were doing but there hadn't been any room for him.

"They'll be fine," said Albert, looking over to Cody, who looked concerned.

"Trust me, they've been through worse," said Diandra with a slight chuckle.

"How did you two know them?" asked Cody.

"They're DECA agents like me and Albert here. There are a lot of us out there. Wouldn't be surprised if you knew more of them," said Diandra.

"DECA Agents?" questioned Cody.

"Digital Emergency Containment Agents or DECA for short. Our job is to find, stop, and capture stray Digimon who enter our world," Albert replied.

"So Digimon like that are always appearing here, why don't I hear about it in the news or anything?" asked Cody.

"Well, we do our best to keep Digimon out of the public eye. If other people found out that there were Digital Monsters around us then there'd be mass hysteria," said Diandra.

"DECA was created to help keep these Digimon under control e with the help of our partners," said Albert.

"How did I get Agumon for a partner?" asked Cody.

"Actually, we have no idea. Nobody at DECA has found a reason to why we were joined up with our partners. There was just some point in our life where we just got a Digivice and partner," said Albert as he looked forward. "We're here."

Cody looked out the window to see a massive skyscraper totally illuminated with lights. The windows appeared to be the color blue with a white trim around the building. The base of the building looked smaller than the top of the building, but four large pillar like structures supported the top of the building.

"Our home away from home," laughed Diandra as Albert began to pulling into a parking garage set below the building. The group exited the vehicle and found an elevator and entered.

"Top floor," said Albert pressing a button on the side of the wall. The doors to the elevator slowly closed.


	3. Ch 3 Welcoming

_**CH. 3 Welcoming**_

The doors to the elevator opened, revealing a rather large lobby in front of them. The DECA seal was imprinted on the floor below. Two girls sat at a desk in the front of the room. They looked to be about the same age. They were both rather short, one with black hair and the other with a dark brown hair color. Both looked up to see who had entered.

"Welcome to DECA Head… Oh Albert it's you. Have fun with your mission?" asked the girl with the black hair.

"Yep, you just burst out of the room and go off. Tell us once in awhile when you go out on a mission. We're DECA squad members too," said the girl with the brown hair.

"Sorry Pricilla, kinda had to jet out of here to go help Diandra." said Albert, laughing. "Oh, this is Cody and his partner Agumon."

"We know all about it. We had another alert saying that another Digimon appeared. When we scanned the area we found out that it was a new Digimon partner to emerge. Welcome to DECA umm… Cody right?" said Pricilla.

"Yeah, you're Pricilla and you are…" started Cody, beginning to point to the other girl.

"Clarissa, my names Clarissa, nice to meet you. The Commanders would like to see you Cody and your new partner Agumon. Albert can take you to the main control room," she said, pointing to a door next to the front desk. Cody just nodded while Agumon looked rather excited.

"Come on, I guess we'll show you," said Albert, walking toward the door. Diandra, Cody and their partners followed. Cody was amazed to see the view outside the windows. The City was completely glowing at night.

"Most of the hallways here run alongside the windows. Give a beautiful view," said Diandra, looking out to see the view.

"Who are the Commanders?" asked Cody.

"Oh, that would be Commander Titan, Aria, Pyro, and Aqua. They are the four main leaders of this organization. They are the ones who recruited us to join DECA," said Albert.

"They're nice, well… Commander Titan can be a bit intimidating but you'll get used to him," said Diandra with a chuckle.

"What if he doesn't join?" asked Agumon.

"Then you'll be sealed away into a card and sent back to the Digital world and Cody will have his memory erased," said Gaomon in a serious tone. Cody and Agumon froze for a bit.

"No pressure," added Renamon. Albert and Diandra looked like they were about to laugh.

"Here we are," said Albert as the group approached a set of large double doors. The DECA seal was imprinted on the middle of the door pair. Albert held up his Digivice to a small control panel on the side of the door and the doors slid opened. The group entered the control room. There were three large screens at one end of the room while there and four chairs situated in the center of the room, surrounded by their own set of computers. There was a mass amount of computers below each screen.

"Welcome," said a voice behind them. The group turned to see a rather tan man wearing a red coat with a black trim. He looked a bit young and had his blonde hair spiked up. Albert and Diandra did a small salute when they saw the man.

"Good Evening Commander Pyro," said the two in unison while their Digimon repeated the same movements.

"No need to be so formal guys," said Commander Pyro.

"Every time we teach them to be polite, you always screw it up," said another person as she entered the room. The figure wore a blue jacket with a black trim. She was slender, with brown hair tied into a pony tail. Albert and Diandra repeated the same movements for this new person.

"Good Evening Commander Aqua" said the two of them.

"Thank you. See they still have respect," said Commander Aqua.

"They're kids, let them have fun," Commander Pyro countered.

"How you ever became a Commander is beyond me," said Commander Aqua, shrugging.

"You two are always fighting."

"Set an example for the kids."

Two more figures entered the room, wearing similar coats as the Commander Aqua and Pyro but this time they were Yellow and Green. Once again, Albert and Diandra repeated the movements.

"Good Evening Commanders Titan and Aria," said the two.

"And to you both, so this is the new Digimon pair," said Commander Aria as she looked over Cody and Agumon.

"Hmmm…" started Commander Titan.

"Looks like another strong pair we have," said Commander Pyro.

"What's your name son?" asked Commander Aqua.

"Cody," said Cody, a bit nervous.

"And I'm Agumon," said Agumon with a smile.

"Like him already," said Commander Pyro.

"Well Cody, if you were able to summon a Digivice and digital partner that means you are meant to join DECA," said Commander Aria.

"Pretty much, the question is, are you going to join?" asked Commander Titan.

"Ummm… I don't know," said Cody honestly.

"You'll get to go out and see the world. Go on adventures you could only dream of," said Commander Pyro.

"You'll make lifelong friends," put in Commander Aqua.

"And most importantly, you'll be serving you community trying to keep it safe from danger," Commander Aria added.

"Well… Yeah… I'll join," said Cody confidently. Agumon gave a cheer.

"I won't let you guys seal up Agumon and erase my memories," said Cody.

"Who told you that?" asked Commander Titan with a puzzled look. Albert and Diandra started to burst out laughing along with Commander Pyro.

"I can't believe he fell for it," said Commander Pyro "Nice one you two."

"Are you two messing with the new recruits?" asked Commander Aqua with a stern look.

"Commander Pyro told us to do it," said Diandra.

"Yeah, he said it was to 'test the courage of a new recruit'" said Albert.

The other Commanders just glared at Commander Pyro. Pyro just laughed. "I thought it would be funny. How was I suppose to know when the next recruit would come in?"

"You kids should get some rest for the night. I want you two to escort Cody and Agumon around the building tomorrow. Show him around while we have his information settled in," said Commander Titan, exiting the room.

"Welcome to DECA Cody," said Commander Aqua, who then followed Titan out of the room.

"Sorry about the joke but, we need to see how courageous you are. Have fun tomorrow and I can't wait to work with you," laughed Pyro.

"Have a good night," added Commander Aria leaving the room.

"Welcome to the DECA squad Cody," said Diandra.

"You're not mad about us tricking you right Cody?" said Albert, looking over to Cody.

Cody and Agumon glared at the two of them and clenched their fists together. "When we get our hands on your, we're gonna kill you."

"Oh boy" said Renamon and Gaomon together.

"See you tomorrow Cody," said Diandra and Albert, sprinting out of the control room, followed by their partners. Cody and Agumon followed in hot pursuit. The commanders watched as they ran buy them.

"To be young again…" said Commander Aqua.


	4. Ch 4 DECA HQ

_**CH. 4 DECA HQ**_

Cody arrived at the DECA headquarters early the next morning with Agumon by his side. The two entered through the ground floor of the building and got on the elevator. He remembered what button Albert had pressed the night before and pressed it. They reached the top floor and found that the room from last night was totally bathed in sunlight. Pricilla and Clarissa were busy at the front desk. Cody walked over to the front desk.

"Hey guys, I'm here for the tour," smiled Cody.

"Not dressed like that," said Clarissa

"Yep, you need a wardrobe change. Blue jeans and t-shirts aren't acceptable attire for this building. Come on, we have something for you," said Priscilla, grabbing Cody by his hand and leading him through a side door. Clarissa did the same with Agumon and dragged him close behind. Cody was eventually brought to what looked like a locker room. Clarissa handed him a small keychain and pushed him through the door.

"We can't go in with you cause it's the guys' locker room. Go to the locker number marked on the key. You'll find a uniform for you to wear. It matches your squad's uniform. Wait for us when you get out. We need to change to in the girl's locker room," yelled Clarissa through the door.

Cody walked through the locker room. He found a few stalls, sinks, mirrors, and a set of lockers with a set of benches behind them. Cody found his locker and opened it. He found a set of clothing inside. The clothes consisted of tan cargo pants, brown boots, a red undershirt, and a red vest that looked similar to what Albert and Diandra had the other day. The symbol of a falcon was imprinted on the back of the vest. Cody changed from his clothes to the new outfit. It was pretty comfortable to him. Cody found a small pocket on the front of his vest and placed his Digivice on it. Cody exited the locker room to find Carissa and Pricilla already waiting for him outside. Clarissa was busy placing something on Agumon.

"What are you doin?" asked Agumon.

"Placing these arm bands on your claws. There is already another Agumon on the DECA squad and I don't want to get the two of you confused," said Clarissa. Agumon examined the bands and smiled.

"I like them," said Agumon.

"They make you look like a fighter," said Cody.

"I'll take you to go get an ID card made for you," said Pricilla, guiding Cody through the halls of DECA. They lead him to another room which held a few small computers. There was a camera mounted on a stand facing a white screen. Pricilla pushed Cody in front of the screen and took a place behind the camera.

"Ready! 1… 2… 3… say cheese" said Pricilla. Cody gave a slight smile while Pricilla took the shot. Once the camera finished Clarissa stood clicking at things on a computer and printed a small card from and an adjoining machine. Clarissa took the card and handed it to Cody. The card displayed Cody's picture, his name, his partner's name, the symbol on the back of his vest and the DECA logo.

"This is your ID card; it'll let you into most rooms in this building and let you have access to different services we offer. I think Albert is in the cafeteria right now with his squad. We'll take you there," said Clarissa exiting the room. Cody and Agumon followed.

Cody noticed the outfits the Pricilla and Clarissa were wearing. They both had on blue jeans, a white undershirt, an orange jacket, and white tennis shoes. Their Digivices were hanging from a necklace around their necks. Clarissa's was a Magenta color and Pricilla's was a Fuchsia colored one. The backs of the jackets bore the symbol of a Pegasus on the back as if in mid-flight. They eventually reached the cafeteria area. There were many tables scattered around this circular room. The windows towered overhead filling the room with sunlight. The aroma of food could be smelt from anywhere. Albert, Diandra, and another person sat together at a table finishing their food. The group approached them.

"He's your problem now," smiled Priscilla as she exited the room.

"See you guys later," said Clarissa, following Priscilla.

"Hey Cody, I see you found your way around," said Diandra.

"And you got some new clothes. Oh, this is Michelle, the third member of our squad," said Albert, introducing another girl. She had long black hair tied up with a bow. She was had on a pair of glasses and looked to be a fair size.

"Nice to meet you," said Michelle smiling at Cody.

"You too. Squad?" asked Cody.

"Oh, all agents are divided into three man squads. Each squad is given a squad name and they are expected to work together. For example, we're the Wolf Squad," Michelle explained.

"Come on, we'll show you around," said Diandra as they exited the room together. The group continued to walk through the hallways of DECA.

"Where are you Digimon?" asked Cody.

"In our Digivices, Gabumon, say hello," said Michelle holding out her Navy Blue colored Digivice. A Digimon appeared before them in a bright flash of light. The Digimon looked similar to a dinosaur with blue fur on its back. It had a yellow body with an egg shaped symbol on its chest along with a sharp looking horn on its head.

"Hello," said the Digimon.

"This is your partner?" asked Cody, looking over Gabumon.

"Yep, we've had many good times together. Right Gabumon?" said Michelle.

"Yes we have and we still have many more left," said Gabumon with a smile.

"You can come on back now and rest for a bit in the Digivice," said Michelle, holding out her Digivice. A small beam of light shot forth from a little circle on the top of the Digivice and hit Gabumon. Gabumon was Digitized back into the Digivice. Michelle placed the Digivice back on her belt.

"Digimon can live in a Digivice?" asked Agumon.

"Oh yeah. You can use your Digivice to hold your Digimon since we're supposed to keep them out of the public eye. Your partner can still communicate with you even while in the Digivice," said Diandra.

Albert held out his Digivice "The button on the right summons and returns your Digimon partner, the button in the center activates the Digi-Charge, and the button on the left is used to capture stray Digimon into a card form."

"Sounds simple enough, Agumon, chill in the Digivice for awhile," said Cody, practicing with his Digivice.

"Ok, but not for too long. Doesn't look like as much fun as being out here," said Agumon as he was digitized into the Digivice. They continued to walk around DECA Headquarters. The group entered one room with many, many rows of books and shelves. A girl with shoulder length brown hair and a pair of slim glasses sat alone at one of the many tables reading a large book.. She was wearing a purple jacket, tan cargo pants, and a white undershirt showing below the jacket. The back of her jacket had the symbol of a dragon on it while her purple colored Digivice was showing on one of her belt loops.

"This is the library, and there is one of its happy residents," laughed Albert.

The girl looked up from her book glaring at them. "Just cause I spend all my free time here doesn't mean I live here"

"Erin, you're always here" said Diandra.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Erin, putting her book down.

"Oh, this is Cody. He's a new member to DECA and we're showing him around," said Michelle.

"Oh ok, well Cody nice to meet you. I'm Erin and if you ever need someone to talk to with a level head, just come and find me," said Erin, returning to her book. The group exited the room and continued with the tour. They entered another room with many types of exercising equipment around the room.

"This is the gym. Whatever muscle you want to work on, you can do it here, well almost any of them," explained Diandra. Three guys were exiting the room. Their uniforms were very similar in color and style. They had black combat boots, green fatigue pants, black under shirts, and tan vests. A black band tied around the upper part of their left arms held their Digivices. The symbol of a lion roaring was imprinted in gold on their right sleeve.

"Sup Albert," greeted one of the boys. He had his black hair tied into corn rolls and had a darkened color skin tone.

"Hey Juan," Albert replied.

"What's up man?" said another one of the guys. This guy had almost the same skin tone as Juan but a little lighter. His hair was black and cut into a buzz cut.

"Hey Stephen."

"Hey Albert," said the third boy. This boy had tanned skin, lighter than both Juan and Stephen. He had short black hair spiked up.

"Hey Ramiro. You guys training for another mission?"

"Yep, you know Commander Titan and his training regimens," said Juan.

"That's why I'm glad Commander Aria is my Commander," laughed Albert "Oh, this is Cody, the new recruit."

The three looked at Cody and examined him. Cody got a chance to see their Digivice colors. Juan had a white Digivice, Stephen had a black one, and Ramiro had a brown colored one.

"We'll see how he does," said Juan, heading out of the room.

"Later guys," Stephen added.

"See you guys around," said Ramiro behind them.

"Ok, try not to kill yourselves with too much training," said Albert.

"Bye Ramiro," said Diandra with a smile. Ramiro just smirked at Diandra causing her to blush a bit. The trio left the room.

"What's with them? They only acknowledged you," said Cody, looking at Albert.

"That's the Lion Squad. They're the top squad here and Commander Titan's personally trained Squad. They're the best and are kind of picky to who they talk to. You have to gain their respect," said Albert.

"And Diandra has a huge crush on Ramiro," added Michelle.

"Shut up Michelle," said Diandra, hitting Michelle on her side.

"Calm down you two. We don't need more people for the Medical Ward," said Albert with a sigh.

"Speaking of, how are Eric and JR?" asked Cody.

"Doing better now, want to see them?"


	5. Ch 5 The New Squad

_**CH. 5 The New Squad**_

Albert led the group to another set of elevators. After traveling down a few levels and passing through hallways, they entered another room. This room had a reception desk just like the lobby. A girl sat alone, typing on a computer behind the desk. The group approached her.

"Hey Alissa," smiled Albert.

"Oh hey Albert, you're not working here today. What's up?" asked the girl.

"Nothing, just checking on a few patients that arrived last night. Can you tell me how Eric and JR are doing?"

"Oh, they were pretty banged up yesterday but nothing Dr. Antonio and Dr. Veronica couldn't fix. They're fine right now. Eric had a sprained spine due to the impact of the attack and JR had a mild concussion from the blow to the head. They'll be free to return to missions in about a week." said Alissa. "I'll take you to them."

Alissa got up from behind the desk and showed the group through the halls of the Medical Ward. Cody got a chance to see Alissa's wardrobe. Her uniform was a light blue jacket, green shirt beneath, tan colored cargo pants, white tennis shoes. The back of the jacket had the symbol of a shark on it. A grey colored Digivice was clipped on Alissa's belt loop. She turned to see Cody and smiled.

"Who's the new guy?"

"Oh this is Cody. He's new to DECA and his partner is Agumon," answered Michelle.

"Oh that's cool. My name is Alissa. If you're ever injured or hurt, come and see me. Better yet, see Albert, he's the top medical agent in DECA," said Alissa. Albert began to blush a bit.

"Ok, the guys are doing better right?" asked Cody.

"Yep, Dr. Antonio and Dr. Veronica are the best. You'll get a chance to meet them soon. Eric and JR are fine. I believe they have a guest right now."

"That's good. At least they can see us," said Cody.

"Let me guess. Ernie is with them right?" asked Diandra.

"Yep, think he'd let his two team mates stay here hurt? He came running last night when he heard what happened."

They finally reached one of the recovery rooms. There were two beds in the room with Eric in one bed and JR in the other, currently asleep. There was a small table, two chairs, and a window in the room. Another boy sat in a chair in-between the two beds and looked tired. He had short, black spiky hair, and a small goatee. He gave a weak smile when he saw the group enter. His attire was just a plain white tee shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

"Hey Cody. When'd you become a DECA agent?" asked Ernie.

"Just yesterday. I could ask you the same thing," Cody replied. He walked over to see how his friends were doing. They had a few bandages and there were a few bruises but other than that they were fine.

"They need rest right now but they're fine, just tired from last night. We should let them rest. Ernie you look terrible. Go get some sleep," said Alissa in a firm manner.

"Yes mom," laughed Ernie, getting up out of his seat. Cody saw a Digivice on Ernie's belt and two other Digivices in his hand. Ernie left a solid blue colored one with JR and a sky blue colored one with Eric. The one on his belt was tan. Ernie left the room followed by the group. He let out a sigh.

"I should have been there to help."

"There was no way we could have know a wild Digimon would appear," said a voice behind them. The group turned to see an older man in a lab coat and approach them, followed by a woman who appeared to be around the same age as him. The female had curly brown while the male had sharp, combed hair. They both wore glasses and matching lab coats.

"Hi Dr.'s Antonio and Veronica," said Alissa.

"Hello children, visiting your friends? That is so nice of you. Who is this young man?" asked Dr. Veronica.

"This is Cody, he's new to DECA," said Ernie.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Dr. Antonio, and this is my wife, Dr. Veronica."

"Calling them by their first names helps avoid confusion," said Albert with a laugh.

"Albert!" yelled a voice. A short figure ran past the two doctors and gave Albert a hug, then grabbed his hand. Albert smiled and ruffled the figures hair.

"Hey Louie. Man you've grown," said Albert.

"Yep, I haven't hung out with you or Gaomon in a long time. Can we go play for awhile? Please!" the boy begged. The kid had messy brown hair, had on a DECA tee shirt, brown shorts, and a pair of tennis shoes.

"Sure. You guys can handle the rest right? Not like there is much left to show here," said Albert.

"Yeah we got it." said Diandra. Albert and Louie left the room.

"Nice to meet you all. Hope to see you children soon. Well not like that but… well… you know what we mean," laughed Dr. Antonio. The two doctors left the room to continue their work.

"Who was the kid?" asked Cody.

"That's Louie, Dr. Antonio's and Veronica's son. He's the youngest in their family which is mostly girls. He looks up to Albert like a big brother," smiled Diandra.

"Reminds me of my younger sister Kayla," Cody mused.

"We can finish showing you around if you want," said Michelle.

"That's ok. I got to see a lot enough of this place already," said Cody.

"Ok then. You're free to…" started Diandra but was cut off by a person entering the ward. Clarissa entered, looking relieved to find Cody.

"There you are Cody, the Commanders are looking for you. You're squad is ready."

Cody entered the command room alone to see two other people his age standing before him. One figure was a girl, wearing the same uniform as Cody. She had long black hair and was a bit short. The other was a figure of a boy in the same uniform. He sported a buzz cut and looked to be in good, physical shape. They turned to see Cody enter. Cody saw that the boy had a maroon Digivice and the girl a crimson Digivice.

"So you're the third member to the Falcon Squad," said the boy "My name's TJ."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Jackie," said the girl.

"Cody," he said, shaking their hands. The group turned to see the four commanders enter the room. The commanders took their place in front of the group.

"I am happy to induct the Falcon Squad to the ranks of DECA," said Commander Titan.

"From this day on, you'll now have the responsibility to protect this city from danger," said Commander Aria.

"You will need to learn to work together with both your team mates and Digimon partners," said Commander Aqua.

"Hopefully you won't screw it up," laughed Commander Pyro. The other Commanders just sighed.

"Anyway, we will offer you the tools needed to stay in contact with the DECA HQ," said Commander Titan, pulling out a silver suit case. He opened it to reveal a set of three headsets and watches. The headsets were colored in the same color as their Digivices and the watches had a silver band, the face of the watches had the color of the Digivice for each member.

"The watches will guide you to certain, programmed locations, such as where a wild Digimon has been located," said Commander Aqua.

"The head sets are to help you stay in contact with the command center and with each other," added Commander Aria.

"You will always have somebody to aid you in case things get a bit hairy," Commander Pyro put in.

"You will also be assigned a Commander to watch over your work. Commander Aria, I leave this task to you," said Commander Titan.

"I accept and look forward to working with you all," she smiled.

"Aww… I wanted to work with the new group," sighed Commander Pyro. Commander Aria just rolled her eyes.

"We won't let you down Commanders," said Jackie.

"We are honored that you selected us," said TJ.

"We'll be the best," added Cody.

"That's what I like to hear," Commander Pyro replied. It was at that moment that the alarm went off.

"Alert, wild Digimon detected at the pier!"

"Let's get to work," said Cody.


	6. Ch 6 Howl

_**CH. 6 Howl**_

Albert, Louie, and Gaomon were up on one of the viewing platforms of the DECA HQ. The room had several benches along the side of the walls, light from the sun pouring into the room. Louie played with Gaomon by punching into his gloved hands.

"You're getting stronger Louie," said Gaomon.

"I have to be if I want to be a DECA agent one day," Louie replied with a smile.

"There is more to being a DECA agent than just being the strongest. You also need to have a level head, be brave, and a lot of other things," smiled Albert.

"I know. I can't wait until I get a partner. When do you think that will be?" asked Louie, walking up to Albert.

"One day Louie, one day," said Albert, ruffling Louie's hair. Louie just smiled.

Albert's Digivice began to let out flashes of red light. He looked over his Digivice then placed it back on his belt.

"Have to go on a mission Louie."

"Aww… can't we play a little longer?"

"When we come back we can play some more ok?" said Albert.

"Ok," frowned Louie. Albert and Gaomon looked to each other and nodded. The two left the room quickly and headed for the control room. Albert arrived to see Cody with his new squad already in the room while Diandra and Michelle entered from another door on the opposite side of the room. Commander Aqua was typing on her computer and pulled up the Digimon's data onto the screen for the others to see. A small picture showed what the Digimon looked like. The creature resembled that of a white squid. It had large, sharp teeth and many tentacles around its body.

"Gesomon, a water type, champion level Digimon, his Coral Crusher attack pounds his enemies," said Commander Aqua, reading the info presented on the screen

"Let's go guys," said Cody. He pulled out his Digivice and summoned Agumon.

"I'm ready to go Cody," said Agumon

"Guilmon, time to get to work," said TJ, calling out his partner. His partner resembled a raptor, with a red and white body. An odd black symbol was on his chest.

"Let me at'em TJ," said the Digimon.

"Come on Hawkmon," said Jackie, calling out her partner. A hawk like Digimon appeared covered in crimson feathers. He wore a white headband with a small yellow feather on the tip around her head.

"I think you three should see another squad handle this to get a better understanding of how things work here in DECA," said Commander Titan.

"We can handle it," said TJ confidently.

"I think you guys would benefit from seeing another squad capture a wild Digimon," added Commander Aqua.

"I guess you guys may be right," sighed Jackie.

"I'll get my squad on it," said Commander Titan.

"I think one of my squads should take care of this seeing as how the Falcon squad is under my supervision. How about it my little wolf cubs?" smiled Commander Aria.

"We'll be more than happy to teach the new recruits how it's done," Diandra replied.

"We're not kids anymore so we're not cubs," groaned Michelle.

"Leave it to us. Let's head out guys," said Albert, exiting the room. The girls followed behind him. Commander Aqua pulled up another video onto the screen.

"This will let you three watch the battle."

Albert, Michelle and Diandra reached the docks by taking one of the DECA jeeps to the location. Gesomon was slowly creeping onto the docks and crushed anything in its path with its tentacles.

"Gaomon, let's go," said Albert, pulling out his Digivice. The Digivice let out a burst of light as Gaomon appeared and stood before the group.

"Renamon, report for duty," said Diandra, calling out Renamon. Her Digivice let out a burst of light, summoning her partner.

"Let's go Gabumon," said Michelle, calling out her partner from her Digivice. Gabumon appeared and looked ready for battle.

"Rolling Upper!" said Gaomon, spinning rapidly into Gesomon. The Digimon was hit with a flurry of punches.

"Diamond Storm!" said Renamon, leaping into the air. She crossed her arms and several white gems appeared around her body. Once she opened her arms, the gems shot forth and struck Gesomon, causing him to back off closer to the water.

"Blue Blaster!" said Gabumon, opening his mouth. A stream of blue energy shot forward to strike Gesomon. The Digimon was now hanging over the end of the docks.

Gesomon slammed one of his large tentacles onto the ground. The shock caused several of the docks to collapse into the water below. Several nearby boats also began to sink beneath the water.

"Let's capture the Digimon before he does any more damage. Ready guys?" said Albert, holding out his Digivice. The girls nodded and pulled out their Digivices in the same manner. A blue aura surrounded their bodies in the shades of their Digivices. They held their palms over the top of the Digivice.

"Digi-Charge!" yelled the three of them as their auras entered the devices. They then pointed their Digivice to their partners as a beam shot forth and stuck them. Their forms began to change.

_Renamon Digivolved to… Kyubimon_

_Gaomon Digivolved to… Gaogamon_

_Gabumon Digivolved to… Garurumon_

Their partners stood in their new forms. Garurumon looked like a white wolf with blue tiger stripes going down the side of his body. The three Digimon began to charge forth toward Gesomon. Gesomon swung one of his tentacles to knock the Digimon back. The team nimbly leapt over the attack the retaliated against the Digimon.

"Spiral Blow!" cried Gaogamon, creating another cyclone. The current of wind lifted the Digimon into the air.

"Foxtail Inferno!" said Kyubimon, shooting off several blue flames, practically cooking the Digimon as it fell back to the earth.

"Howling Blaster!" cried Garurumon, shooting off a beam of blue energy striking the Gesomon and causing him to crash into the water. Gesomon returned to the surface of the water floating lifeless. Another ring of data appeared around the Digimon. Albert took aim with his Digivice.

"Digital Capture," said Albert, sending off another beam of white light. The light struck the data stream, causing Gesomon to return to a card form. The card floated gently into Albert's hand.

"That ends it. Good job guys," said Michelle. Their partners let out a howl then returned to their rookie forms. The group congratulated each other after their recent victory and headed back to DECA HQ.

"That's how you do it," cheered Commander Pyro.

"That's my team for you," Commander Aria said proudly.

"Another job well done," complemented Commander Titan. The screen changed and displayed a map of the city. Things appeared to be quiet for the moment in the city.

"So is that what we're going to have to do?" asked Jackie in awe.

"Yes, but we will train you on how to handle those types of situations," said Commander Aria.

"As you can see from their strategy, the team knocked Gesomon away from the main land but never let it escape into the water. By lifting the creature into the air, the Wolf Squad could easily defeat and capture the Digimon," explained Commander Titan.

"We could have done better," murmured Guilmon. TJ let out a small smirk.

"You'll get your chance," said Commander Pyro with a smile.

"When do we start our training?" asked Cody anxiously. Agumon had the same look on his face.

"Well, after we work with your schedules a bit then we can begin right away. We need you kids to have both balance in both your education and your job," Commander Aria replied.

"A wise decision indeed," said Hawkmon.

The group turned to see Albert and his squad returning to the main control room. Albert handed Commander Titan the card with the captured Digimon within it. Commander Titan looked quite content and left the room with the card in hand.

"What happens to the captured Digimon?" asked Guilmon

"Oh, we have a library where we keep them. We can only send one Digimon at a time to the Digital World within a period of twenty four hours. We still haven't found an easier way to send them back," answered Diandra.

"It is getting late kids, why don't you get something to eat then head on home to rest?" said Commander Aqua, rushing them out of the room. The group nodded and exited the room.


	7. Ch 7 First Fight

_**CH. 7 First Fight**_

The days had passed rather quickly as the new squad was trained with their Digimon partners. The hot summer days were now becoming cooler as fall approached. Jackie and Hawkmon spent a lot of time with Albert and Alissa in the Medical Ward learning the art of healing. TJ, Guilmon, Cody, and Agumon were constantly training in the gym to improve their fighting skills. The two of them exited the gym one day and met with Jackie in the hallway outside the gym

"Working hard?" laughed Jackie.

"You know it," said TJ with a smile.

"Can't wait till we get out there and capture our first Digimon," Cody added.

"Yeah, we'll take out any Digimon who tries to cause destruction," added Agumon from within the Digivice.

"My, my, my, what confidence we have," said a cold voice behind them. Jackie, Cody, and TJ turned to see an older looking man appear behind them. He had black, messy hair, thin half-moon glasses, and wore a long white lab coat.

"I have been waiting to meet you three. The new DECA recruits," said the man.

"I don't think we've met," said Cody.

"No you have not my dear child. My name is Kroger, Professor Kroger, or just Kroger. Whatever makes it easier for you," said the professor in a low voice.

"Nice to meet you," said Jackie nervously. The feeling this man gave sent chills down their spine.

"The same goes for you children. My, what a powerful Digital Aura you have my dear boy, Cody is it not?" Kroger asked.

"Yes and how did you know…" started Cody.

"I have studied you children in your training. The amount of power in your Digital Charges is great. I wonder if you may help…" began the professor.

"There you guys are. I've been looking all over for you," said Albert, entering the hallway. He walked right passed Professor Kroger.

"I have something to show you guys today. Oh, hi Professor Krug… I mean Kroger," laughed Albert. Albert began to push the others away from the professor.

"I bid you all adieu," said the professor. Albert took the group to the control room.

"Thanks Albert, that guy gives me the creeps," said TJ.

"No problem. That's Professor Kroger for you, or as Commander Pyro taught us, Professor Kruger," said Albert with a smile

"Is he always like that?" asked Jackie.

"Unfortunately yes, he has helped develop the Digital Gate to return captured Digimon to the Digital World but some of his experiments are a little… well… what's the word for it…" said Albert in thought.

"Cruel and unusual?" suggested Gaomon from within Albert's Digivice.

"Yep, that about covers it," said Albert. The group laughed for a bit.

"What did you want to show us?" asked Cody, changing the subject.

"These," said Albert, pulling out three pairs of what looked like sun glasses from his pocket. The frames of the glasses were colored just like their Digivices. TJ, Cody, and Jackie took their corresponding pairs and put them on.

"These are the newest gadget from our technicians here at DECA, I'll introduce you guys to them sometime."

"What do they do?" asked Jackie.

"These are Data Visors, they can give you information on any Digimon that you encounter that you may or may not know of. They can also allow you to use night vision and detect thermal readings. Just push that button on the left to turn them on or off and the button on the right to toggle between features," explained Albert.

"Thanks man," said Cody, turning his pair of glasses on. He could see everything giving off their thermal heat signatures in a spectrum of color. He turned off the visor and put it in one of his pockets on the vest, as did Jackie and TJ. The group was startled to hear the alarm go off. Commander Aria entered and checked the screen main computer screen.

"An unknown Digimon has appeared in the forest area outside of town. Cody, you and your squad are to mobilize and capture this Digimon."

"Right we're on it," said Cody. Cody, TJ, and Jackie left the room in a hurry to get to their mission.

The team pulled up in one of the DECA jeeps on the outside area of the forest. The exited the vehicle and surveyed the area. The trees began to rustle as a giant wasp like Digimon appeared. The Digimon had a yellow body, black stripes, and a set of dark pink wings. It flew through the air with quick speeds. Jackie pulled out her new Data Visor and put it on. She then examined the Digimon flying in the air.

"Flymon, a champion insect type, be careful with its stinger and Brown Stingers attack."

"Ok then. Agumon, come on out," said Cody, holding up his Digivice. Agumon appeared in a flash of light.

"Ok Hawkmon, show them what you can do," said Jackie, calling out her partner. Hawkmon flew into the sky once she was summoned.

"Guilmon, take out the Digimon," said TJ as his partner appeared before him.

The three Digimon took their battle stances. Flymon flew overhead and took aim at the group with its stinger. The Digimon shot several stingers at the group. The team easily dodged the attack then retaliated with their own attacks.

"Pepper Breath!" said Agumon, releasing several fire balls from his mouth. They missed their target as Flymon dodged around in midair.

"Pyro Sphere!" said Guilmon, shooting a glowing red orb from his mouth toward Flymon. Flymon was able to dodge this attack also.

"Let me try, Feather Strike!" said Hawkmon, throwing the feather on her headband. The feather spun at a high speed and struck Flymon right in the chest and returned to Hawkmon.

"Let's take this to the next level," said Cody as a red aura began to form around his body. Auras in the colors of Jackie's and TJ's Digivices began to form around their bodies. They held their hands over their Digivices and cried out in the same time "Digi-Charge!"

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

Aquilamon resembled a large eagle with a set of black horns, crimson feathers, and a set of white feathers on his massive wings. Growlmon was essential a much larger form of Guilmon with the same symbol on his chest, white hair, and larger features. Flymon was out numbered greatly. It tried to fly off and escape. Aquilamon flew right past Flymon and attack the Digimon.

"Blast Rings!" said Aquilamon, releasing a series of crimson colored rings onto Flymon, sending it to the ground.

"Pyro Blaster!" said Growlmon, releasing a giant red orb from his mouth and hitting Flymon.

"We'll end this, Mega Flare!" said GeoGreymon, releasing a steady stream of flames onto Flymon. Flymon's Digital Code began to appear. Cody took his chance to capture the Digimon.

"Digital capture!" said Cody, trapping the Digimon into a card with one scan of his Digivice. The champion Digimon returned to their rookie forms and rejoined their partners.

"That was great guys," said Jackie, congratulating the Digimon.

"It was nothing," Agumon replied.

"Easy as umm… TJ what's real easy?" smiled Guilmon.

"I still have a lot to teach you Guilmon," sighed TJ.

"Let's head back to DECA HQ guys and give this card to the Commanders. I can't wait to tell the others about what happened," said Cody in excitement. The group smiled and nodded then recalled their Digimon back to the Digivices. They headed back for their home base.

"_Interesting, yes very interesting. The Digital Aura is great within this boy… I wonder…"_


	8. Ch 8 Siblings

_**CH. 8 Siblings**_

Cody walked through the halls of the DECA HQ, making his way to the cafeteria. He had spent another day training with TJ and deemed it time to get something to eat. He waved to a few of the DECA Agents he recognized as he made his way to the cafeteria. When he entered the cafeteria, he quickly got his food and took a seat at one of the tables. He sat there eating alone since he was one of the only ones in the room currently.

"Mind if I sit with you?" asked a male voice behind him. Cody turned to see another boy a little younger than him standing behind him holding a tray.

"Go ahead, wouldn't mind the company," invited Cody. The boy sat directly in front of Cody. He had a tan colored skin tone, messy black hair and wore a uniform very similar to Alissa's but had a vest rather than a jacket. He had a Goldenrod colored Digivice attached to a pocket on his vest.

"My name's Cody."

"Mine's Memo, nice to meet you," said the boy.

"Which squad are you on?" asked Cody, trying to make conversation with the boy.

"I'm on the Shark Squad."

"So you're on the same squad as Alissa then."

"Yeah, you know her?"

"Yep, we met my second day here. She works with the Medical Ward I believe."

"That's her alright," Memo laughed. The two of them talked for a little while. Jackie entered the cafeteria, saw Cody and took a seat next to him.

"Hey Cody, thought I'd find you here. I see you met my brother," said Jackie.

"Brother?" said Cody, surprised.

"Oh yes, he's my younger brother," said Jackie with a smile.

"And I'm a better agent than you" mocked Memo.

"Just cause you started before me doesn't make you better. I'm still older and wiser," replied Jackie.

"No you're not," said Memo.

"Yes I am," Jackie replied.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"Children behave," said Albert, taking a seat next to Memo. The two just laughed for a bit.

"What are you doing here Albert? I thought you were studying in the library," Jackie asked.

"Yeah I was but Professor Kroger entered so I wanted to get out of there quickly before he wanted me to help in one of his experiments. Man he gives me the creeps."

The four of them talked for awhile. The doors opened into the cafeteria as another boy entered. He had tanned skin about the same as Memo, had short black hair, and looked to be a good size. He wore a pair of tan colored cargo pants, black shirt, black gloves, and a black band on his left arm holding a gold colored Digivice. The back of his shirt had a series of claw marks outlined in silver. The boy looked a bit tired.

"What's Stephen doing wearing another uniform, I thought we could only belong to one squad," said Cody, examining the boy. Jackie, Memo, and Albert turned to see the boy and smiled.

"That's not Stephen," laughed Jackie.

"It looks like him," said Cody.

"Well he should, that's Gerald, Stephen's younger brother," said Albert.

"Come and sit with us Gerald!" yelled Memo. Gerald got his food and took a seat with the group.

"This is Gerald, a member of the Tiger Squad," introduced Jackie.

"Nice to meet you man," said Gerald.

"Same to you man," said Cody.

"Working with AJ and Fabian again?" asked Memo.

"Yeah, just doing some training to get better. We have a lot to live up to. Well I do in any case."

"You don't have to be as good as Stephen and his squad are, just do your best. That is all any of the Commanders could ask for," said Jackie.

"But I want to be as good as him, if not better."

"Just do what you can. Besides, Stephen, Juan, and Ramiro have been working here for a long time. That's why they are so good. Commander Titan sees to that every day. You don't have to kill yourself training to get to his level. Everybody is different. Don't try to live up to an older sibling. Trust me on this one. I never did with my older brother and I'm happy for doing things my way," said Albert.

"I never do things Jackie's way," put in Memo.

"And I'd never think of doing things Memo's way," added Jackie.

"I have a younger sister so my job is to protect her. I have no idea about this whole live up to sibling thing. Any other people here at DECA that are related that I should know about?" asked Cody.

"Not that I can think of. Most of our siblings are already older than us or too young. Think Brandon might become an agent one day. He's the same age as Louie," Albert replied.

"Brandon. I don't think so. He does like DECA and all but I don't he's old enough. He's a little on the shy side", said Gerald.

"Oh yeah, Brandon is Gerald's younger brother," explained Jackie.

"I figured that out. You don't have to explain everything to me," said Cody, a little annoyed. The group laughed. Before they could continue, the screens on their Digivices began to flash red. The group got up and quickly made their way to the control room. Albert took a seat at the main computer screen and pulled up the alert screen. Commander Pyro and Aria entered the room as the info on the Digimon came onto the screen. The Digimon on the screen appeared to be giant gorilla with white fur and a black colored body. It had a rather large cannon attached to its right arm.

"Gorillamon, a champion beast type Digimon, though he has great physical strength, this Digimon uses the cannon on his arm to perform his Energy Cannon attack," read Albert.

"Falcon squad, you're going on this capture mission," said Commander Aria.

"What about TJ? He just left the HQ and we can't go out with a two man squad," said Cody.

"Gerald, I want you to go with them to complete the squad. I'm sure you teammates would understand leaving them out this one time. You're all new recruits anyway so it's not like you're smarter than them," said Commander Pyro.

"Ok sir. I will do what I can."

"The Digimon has appeared by the forest area. It is close by to where Flymon appeared the other day," said Albert.

The three of them left the command room en route to the Digimon's location. The group traveled to the forest area rather quickly in the DECA jeep. The exited the vehicle to find the Digimon already on a rampage through the forest and heading for the city. They held out their Digivices and called out their partners. Hawkmon, Agumon, and another Digimon appeared.

"Ready, Coronamon?" said Gerald.

"Yep," replied the Digimon. The Digimon appeared to be a lion of sorts but very small and stood on two legs. It had red wavy fur, with another patch of yellow fur on its chest and wore two wristbands. A visor on his head had a flame burning on top of it while another flame burned on his tail.

"Let's divert his attention over here. Coronamon, you know what to do," said Gerald before Jackie or Cody could say anything.

"Alright, leave this to me," said Coronamon. Coronamon charged toward Gorillamon and clenched his fist. Fire began to form around his fist as he leapt into the air.

"CoroKnuckle!" yelled the Digimon, punching Gorillamon on his side. Gorillamon let out a loud cry and turned to face Coronamon.

"Let's end this!" said Gerald as his aura began to form around his body. He placed his hand on top of his Digivice.

"You don't get to have all the fun," said Cody, performing the same movements, Jackie following.

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Coronamon Digivolved to…Firamon_

Firamon resembled a mighty lion with red fur and a grand yellow mane. He had a set of red wings growing from the sides of his body while several bands were tied around his legs and fore head. A flame stood on the end of his tail as well as on top of each band on his body. Gorillamon took aim with his cannon and launched a beam of energy. Firamon dodged the attack and readied one of his own.

"Flame Dive!" said Firamon, jumping into the air. His whole body was engulfed with flames as he dove straight for Gorillamon. The attack collided with Gorillamon but sent several stray flames onto the trees. The trees quickly caught fire, releasing black smoke into the air.

"We have a problem here," said Aquilamon, flying overhead.

"We can't let the fire spread out to much," said Cody.

Gorillamon jumped into the cloud of smoke overhead and let out two energy beams that struck GeoGreymon and Firamon. The two Digimon took the full force of the attack, causing them to return to their rookie forms. Another beam hit Aquilamon, reverting back her to her rookie form. Cody, Jackie, and Gerald ran to their partners' aid.

"Come on buddy, get up," said Cody, Agumon in his arms. Agumon just appeared to be dazed. The fires quickly spread around them. The group was soon trapped in the flames.

What do we do now guys?" asked Jackie.

"I don't know," said Gerald, almost in panic.

Gorillamon appeared before the group and let out another loud growl while he took aim with his cannon.


	9. Ch 9 Sibling Rivalry

_**CH. 9 Sibling Rivalry**_

The group stared down the end of the cannon on Gorillamon's arm. The group could not escape due to the surrounding flames that towered into the night sky. Their partners were too weakened to try and Digivolve.

"A plan would be nice right now," said Cody nervously. Jackie and Gerald could not think of the words to say.

A strong breeze blew past them. The winds seemed to spiral around the areas. The flames were all extinguished at once. Gorillamon cried out in pain and took several steps back. Another Digimon appeared between Gorillamon and the group. The Digimon appeared to be a white fox like creature with red marks on some of its extremities and a large blade for a tail. It had a white mane with a red and white rope tied around its neck.

"Reppamon?" said Gerald suddenly.

"You know that Digimon?" asked Cody.

"Yeah, he's my brother's partner."

"You ok Gerald?" yelled Stephen as he ran up to his brother's side. Gerald stood up with the still-unconscious Coronamon in his arms.

"Yeah, I'm fine. What are you doing here?" asked Gerald.

"I walked into the Control Room and saw you guys already on your way. The Commanders sent me and Albert to come and assist you guys if needed which was a good thing they did.. What the hell were you thinking using a fire attack so close to the forest?" said Stephen angrily. Gerald couldn't think of a reason. Gorillamon took aim with his cannon but was cut off by an attack from Gaogamon.

"As much of a learning experience this is, let's talk about this later," said Albert, helping Cody and Jackie up off the ground with their partners.

"He's right. We'll talk about this later. Reppamon, take care of Gorillamon," said Stephen.

"Right, Wind Scythe!" said Reppamon. His tail began to glow in a solid white color as it swayed back and forth. The tail continued this motion and then quickly swung forward. Gorillamon let out a few more cries in pain.

"How can he be in pain? I didn't see anything strike him," Cody asked.

"Reppamon's Wind Scythe attack sends several invisible blades toward its enemies. They're nearly impossible to see with the naked eye," answered Albert." Gaogamon, help him out."

"Right, Spiral Blow!" cried Gaogamon, creating another vortex and trapping Gorillamon. Reppamon let out another attack, causing Gorillamon's Digital Code to appear around his body.

"Digital Capture!" said Stephen, holding out his Digivice. The beam of light emitted from the Digivice captured Gorillamon and turned him into a card. The card floated into Stephen's palm. Stephen pocketed the card as the two champions returned to their rookie forms. Gaomon stood by Albert as a smaller Digimon appeared then ran onto Stephen's shoulders. The Digimon resembled a ferret with a yellow collar and yellow markings.

"Good job Kudamon," said Stephen.

"It was nothing really," replied the little Digimon.

"Let's head back, I think we've done enough here," said Albert. The group nodded and called back their partners into the Digivices. They then returned to the base.

"Well it didn't go quite how we would have liked but it was a learning experience none the less," mused Commander Pyro.

"I'm sorry Commander, it was all my fault. It's won't happen again," said Gerald, looking at the floor.

"It shouldn't have happened in the first place. A DECA Agent should know the way to handle a situation without putting others in danger," said Stephen, glaring at Gerald.

"Well… though you kids did screw up, it was a good way to learn about emergency situation."

"We caught the Digimon so some good did come out of it," added Albert.

"That's right and the fires were put out," said Jackie.

"Like Commander Pyro said, this was a good learning experience. Just remember to survey your surroundings and asses your plan from there. Get some rest kids, we have another day of work tomorrow," said Commander Aria as she left the room.

"She's right. See you guys in the morning," said Jackie, also leaving the room.

"I still have some work to do so see you guys later," said Albert, following Jackie.

"Night all," said Commander Pyro before departing.

"Night guys," said Cody, leaving the room with Commander Pyro. Only Gerald and Stephen were left in the room.

"So what do you have to say for yourself?" Stephen asked, still in a serious tone.

"Look I already said I was sorry and took full responsibility for what I did," growled Gerald.

"Yeah something that shouldn't have happened. If me and Albert didn't get there in time you guys would have been hurt or worse killed!" yelled Stephen.

"Look, I tried to handle it and failed. I'm not as great an agent as you are so just back off!" yelled Gerald as he began to leave the room.

"Don't turn your back on me!" barked Stephen, grabbing his brother's shoulder and pulling him back. The two almost got into a fist fight before Commander Pyro reentered the command room and pulled them apart.

"Whoa guys. Let's calm down here," Commander Pyro ordered, holding the two of them away from each other.

"He started it," said Gerald.

"I didn't do anything. Maybe if you thought about what you did before you did it this never would have happened," Stephen replied, still angry with his brother.

"Well the sibling rivalry is strong with you two," sighed Commander Pyro. Gerald and Stephen finally calmed down to where they weren't trying to tear each other's throats out.

"Let's agree to disagree here. Gerald, though you had the right idea, you should have thought about what you were doing plus the fact you were surrounded by wood which burns. Stephen, Gerald is still new and is learning. He is going to make mistakes. He did the right thing by taking the blame for his mistake and trying to correct it. Are we in agreement here?" said Commander Pyro, talking a bit more serious than what he usually did. The two of them gave a slight nod.

"Ok then. Being the brothers that you are, give each other a hug and make up," laughed the Commander. The two brothers just gave a slight smirk which was enough to please Commander Pyro.

"I'm going to leave again. Try not to kill each other. That would be so much fun to explain to your parents," said Pyro, leaving the room again. The two of them remained quiet for a while; Stephen spoke first.

"Look, I know I'm hard on you but I want you to be the best like me. If something were to happen to you, I don't think I could face mom and dad to tell them what happened."

"Yeah I know that but I'm trying here. I want to be great but I still have a long while to go."

"You'll get there one day. But you won't be better than me," laughed Stephen, patting his brother on his back. The two laughed a bit.

"I will one day," Gerald said confidently.

"Maybe in your dreams" mocked Stephen. The two of them left the command room laughing. The two of them ran into Professor Kroger in the hallway on their way out.

"Oh, good evening you two. Are you ready for your mission my dear Stephen?" asked Kroger.

"Yeah but that's still not for another week," Stephen replied.

"Oh I forgot about that. Good luck in case I don't see you off before then," smile Professor Kroger as he continued down the hallway.

"Mission?" said Gerald.

"Commander Titan has this top secret mission for me and my squad. He has us set to deploy in about a week from now so next Monday we're going to leave," explained Stephen.

"Where to?" asked Gerald.

"I have no idea but the Commanders are sending us there. The whole thing is so secret they won't tell us till the day we leave. We'll only be gone a few days then come back from what Commander Titan said. So I need you to hold down the fort till we get back."

"Will do bro." The two of them continued down the hallway.


	10. Ch 10 Mind Over Matter

_**CH. 10 Mind Over Matter**_

Cody arrived at DECA HQ the following day after school, ready to work. Pricilla and Clarissa greeted him when he entered the lobby of the headquarters.

"Welcome Cody. Oh yeah, Commander Titan is having a training session in the gym if you're interested. A lot of the other guys are going to go. It's optional so you don't have to go if you don't want to," Pricilla informed him.

"You should find some new gym clothes in your locker. Your old ones kinda stunk," Clarissa added.

"Ok thanks guys," said Cody, entering the main doors. He made his way to the locker room and went straight for his locker. He opened it to find a pair of black basket ball shorts and a white tee-shirt with the DECA logo on the upper right part of the shirt. He quickly changed into his new clothes. Cody entered the gym to find most of the guys there all talking to each other and wearing the exact same clothes as him. Cody stood with Eric, JR, Ernie, TJ and another boy he recognized from his baseball team.

"You're a member of DECA too Isaac?" said Cody, surprised.

"Yeah, I am," said the boy. He was a bit shorter that the other guys, had very short black hair, and looked to be in a fit, physical condition.

The group talked some more till Titan entered the room with Juan, Ramiro, and Stephen by his side. Gerald, Memo, and two other boys entered the room right after that. Titan examined the group and spoke.

"This session is to teach you men how to use you mind to overcome certain obstacles."

"Which would be…" started one of the guys. He had spiky brown hair, tall, and had lightly tanned skin.

"Taking out an opponent that is bigger than you AJ," sighed Juan.

"So how do we do that?" asked the other boy, who had brown hair, same skin tone as AJ, and looked to be in good health also

"Let the commander speak and you'll learn Fabian," said Ramiro.

"As I was saying. Mind over matter can…" started the Commander but was interrupted by Commander Aria entering the room with Albert, Jackie, Diandra, and two other unknown girls with her.

The first girl had blonde hair, looked to be a good size, and dressed in the same type of uniform as Winona. A peach colored Digivice was attached to a necklace around her neck. The other girl had the same uniform type and had long brown hair tied in a pony tail, was rather slim, and had a silver colored Digivice around her neck on a necklace.

"I thought we could get some training done here. Never mind girls we'll go somewhere else," sighed Commander Aria.

"You forgot Albert is with us," laughed the blond girl.

"Oh yes, thank you Brandi. Sorry about that Albert," smiled the Commander.

"You always do," said the other girl.

"Thanks Kelsey but she never remembers when I'm the only guy in the group," sighed Albert.

"We'll leave you guys alone then," said the Commander, starting to exit the room.

"Oh it's no problem Aria. If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Albert for a bit," said Commander Titan.

"Why me?" asked Albert, surprised.

"Mind over matter demonstration," answered Commander Titan. "Now if you don't mind, step over here"

Albert walked over to Titan. The girls decided to stay and watch the demonstration.

"This will show you that anybody can take on any opponent. JR, come here and try to attack Albert," said Commander Titan.

"I'll hurt him. He's weaker than me" said JR.

"If that is what you think. Just try it," the Commander ordered.

The guys laughed while JR walked over to Albert and let out a few punches. Albert dodged them all easily. JR let one punch fly forward. Albert dodged the attack and grabbed JR's arm then flipped him over onto the ground. The girls let out a laugh while the guys looked on in shock. After Albert realized what he did, he helped JR up off the ground.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot that I can do that," said Albert apologetically.

"How the heck did you do that?" asked JR, dusting himself off. The other guys were in just as much confusion as him.

"You left your self open so I knew that if I focused my weight onto the ground I could lift you up over one point and then flip you. I just thought about what to do and not what type of energy I would need."

"See what I mean. You underestimated Albert, leaving you wide open for an attack. By planning what he could do and focusing his strength, he could easily counter attack you. Want to stay and train with us Albert?" the Commander asked.

"No thanks, all I need to train is the muscle in my head. Besides, I promised to help with the girl's training today," he replied. Albert quickly left with the girls out of the gym. The remaining guys continued with Commander Titan's training methods.

Cody returned to the Control room later that day with Jackie and TJ. Albert was with the two girls from earlier typing on the main computer as Commander Aqua looked on. They turned to greet the group as they entered.

"I don't think you've meet Brandi or Kelsey yet have you Cody?" asked Albert.

"Not yet, I'm Cody."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Brandi…" said the girl with blond hair.

"… and I'm Kelsey. We're on the Dragon squad," said the girl with brown hair. Before anybody could say any more, the alarm went off. Albert pulled up the alert screen and displayed the information on the Digimon that had appeared. The Digimon resembled a mole of sorts with purple and white fur. It had a long horn the resembled a drill.

"Drimogemon, another champion beast type, like to use his horn to perform its Iron Drill Spin attack." said Kelsey reading off the data.

"We'll handle this one," said Cody leaving the room with his team.

"Head for the Wild Grass Fields outside of town. He should be there," Brandi added, finding the location on the computer.

"Ok, we're on it," said TJ as he followed Cody and Jackie.

The team arrived on the scene to find several gaping holes in the ground. The Digimon appeared from one of the holes and let out a growl before it returned to below the earth's surface. The group pulled out their Digivices and summoned their partners to the field. They then placed their hands over the Digivices while their auras formed around them. "Digi-Charge!" yelled the group together.

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

"Let's seal this guy up guys," said Cody.

"Right!" said the Digimon altogether. Drimogemon emerged from the ground then tried to attack with its horn. The team dodged the attack. Drimogemon returned to below ground.

"We can't attack him from below ground," said Jackie.

"We need to keep him above ground then attack," added TJ.

"Right, GeoGreymon, you need to pull out Drimogemon when he emerges from the ground and keep him above ground!" yelled Cody. GeoGreymon nodded in agreement and surveyed the area. Drimogemon sprung out from the ground with his horn spinning. GeoGreymon grabbed his horn and held it tight.

"Come on buddy. Pull him out!" yelled Cody.

"His horn is spinning too hard. I can't hold him," struggled GeoGreymon.

"Just focus and hold his horn in place!" yelled Cody.

"Growlmon, Help yank Drimogemon out of the ground," said TJ. Growlmon grabbed Drimogemon's head and slowly pulled him out of hiding. The two Digimon held Drimogemon to the ground.

"Let me finish this. Grand Horn!" said Aquilamon as the tips of her horns began to glow in a bright red. She rammed the horns into Drimogemon's side, causing the Digimon's Digital Code to appear.

"Digital Capture!" said Jackie, capturing the Digimon into a card. The card floated into her hands.

"And that end's it," said Cody. Their Digimon returned to their rookie forms.

"We're getting good at this," said Agumon.

"Yeah, we're getting better and better every day," said Guilmon.

"Soon you guys won't be rookies anymore," put in Hawkmon.

"Yeah, we are growing stronger," thought TJ.

"Let's head on back and return the Digimon then get something to eat. I'm hungry," said Cody, holding his stomach.

"Us too," added Agumon and Guilmon in unison.

The group laughed then returned to DECA HQ with their captured Digimon in tow


	11. Ch 11 Night Out

_**CH. 11 Night Out**_

"Please Albert, please….." begged Diandra. Diandra and Albert were in one of the viewing platforms, Albert trying to read from the book in his palms.

"I don't want to work at night again. I practically live here already with all the studying I do plus the hours I put in at the Medical Ward and on missions," groaned Albert.

"It'll only be for one night. I promise I'll make it up to you," said Diandra, practically on her knees.

Michelle walked in and observed the two of them. "What's going on?"

"Diandra wants me to take over her graveyard shift tomorrow so she and Ramiro can go out on a date," explained Albert.

"Oh, why is he taking you out tomorrow night? What's the occasion?" asked Michelle.

"Ramiro said he had something important to tell me but wanted to do something special before he told me. I really don't know and won't know unless Albert trades me spots," said Diandra. She started to give Albert a look with a set of puppy dog eyes.

"Darn it. I can never say no when you do that. Ok fine, I'll take your shift tomorrow night. You owe me big through," sighed Albert.

"Thank you, thank you! I have to plan what I going to wear. Bye guys!" exclaimed Diandra, leaving the room quickly.

"That was so nice of you," said Michelle, taking a seat next to Albert.

"Hey Michelle…" started Albert.

"No way… I'm not taking that shift," laughed Michelle. Albert just sighed and returned to his book.

Albert sat alone in the control room the next night reading a book to himself. Michelle entered and took a seat next to Albert; she began look up something one of the computers. The screen displayed a map of the quiet city.

"I already checked earlier, nothing going on tonight," said Albert from behind his book.

"I know. Diandra and Ramiro just left a few minutes ago. Diandra and Ramiro looked so cute," smiled Michelle.

"Where are they going?" asked Albert, putting his book down.

"Ummm… The Moonlight Lounge I believe," said Michelle.

"Is he proposing to her or what? That place is one of the fanciest places to go in this city."

"I don't know. I wonder what Ramiro wanted to tell her…."

"Probably about that top secret mission Ramiro and his squad are going on… oops, wasn't suppose to tell you that…"

"What top secret mission? Albert, what are you not telling me?" asked Michelle. Before Albert could say anything, the screen went red.

"Oh great, a Digimon," groaned Michelle.

Albert checked the info on the computer, and froze. "This is not good."

Diandra and Ramiro had spent one wonderful night together or so thought Diandra. The Moonlight Lounge sat next to a grand river that flowed on the edge of the city. The various windows along the walls allowed people to observe the clear flowing water. The interior of the place was elegantly decorated and was lit mostly by candles on each table. After a while, Ramiro escorted Diandra to a patio located right outside the lounge. They both stood on the edge of the patio looking up into the night sky.

"This had to have been the greatest night of my life," sighed Diandra.

"Glad you liked it," said Ramiro. "Hey Diandra, there is something I wanted to give you…"

Diandra's heart began to race "What?"

"Well you see I'm leaving this Monday on a mission and I just wanted to give you this," he said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a set of old looking, grey dog tags and handed them to Diandra.

"These are your first pair of dog tags from when you started at DECA. Why are you giving them to me?"

"I know that we don't get to do much together since I'm always on missions for Commander Titan. I just wanted to give you something to remember me until I come back," said Ramiro coolly.

"I'll always remember you Ramiro, I won't forget you. You will come back right? This isn't a life or death mission is it?" asked Diandra, placing the tags around her neck.

"I'm not sure. Commander Titan told us to take all measures we deemed necessary before we leave so I wanted to spend some time with you before I left. Just remember one thing for me please, I'll come back. No matter what, I will come back."

"Oh Ramiro…" started Diandra.

"I don't know what will happen but no matter what, I will come back to you cause I…" started Ramiro, but he was cut off by a loud crashing noise. A large Digimon came stomping through the building, people running away in terror below it. The Digimon resembled a dinosaur of sorts with a deep black shell and white skin. The creature's eyes glowed in a deep red as it growled at the two of them.

"Stay behind be Diandra," said Ramiro, pushing her behind him. Ramiro pulled out his Digivice and a set of Data Visors. He scanned the Digimon. "Monochromon, dinosaur type champion level Digimon. His Volcanic Strike attack burns his enemies to a crisp."

"Of all nights, why tonight?" groaned Diandra.

Ramiro held out his Digivice "Armadillomon, report for duty." A rather fair sized Digimon appeared before the two of them. The Digimon had a shiny yellow shell and looked very similar to an armadillo.

The Digimon let out a yawn "Aww… Ramiro, I was taking a very nice nap. Why'd you have to wake me?"

"Sorry buddy but we got a wild one here."

"Ok then. Let's take his out so I can go back to sleep. Ready when you are."

"Right, Digi-Charge!" said Ramiro as his aura began to enter his Digivice.

_Armadillomon Digivolved to… Ankylomon_

Ankylomon appeared and stood before Monochromon. Ankylomon resembled an ankylosaurus-type dinosaur with tough yellow armor and spikes. His tail had a large spiked ball swinging from the end of it. Ankylomon let out a loud roar, shaking the surrounding area.

"You're going down, Tail Hammer!" said Ankylomon, swinging his tail. The tail rammed right into Monochromon, sending him crashing to the ground. Monochromon let out a giant fireball from his mouth while he tried to recover. The stray attack flew straight past Ankylomon and toward Ramiro and Diandra. Ramiro pushed Diandra out of harm's way; his shoulder was scorched by the attack. Diandra began to slip over the edge of the patio but was caught by Ramiro before she could fall into the water below. He struggled to keep her up.

"Ramiro, you're hurt…" said Diandra as she tried to reach for her Digivice but couldn't grab it from her pocket.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about me. I need to get you up here," said Ramiro, wincing.

Monochromon gave one swift swing with his tail, knocking Ankylomon out of the way. Only Ramiro and Diandra were left in his path.

Suddenly, Monochromon was hit on the side of his face by an incoming attack of blue spiraling energy.

"You guys ok?" yelled Michelle from Garurumon's back. Albert and Gaogamon were standing next to them, Albert on Gaogamon's back.

"Yeah," said Ramiro.

"Help Ramiro!" yelled Diandra, still hanging on to Ramiro's arm over the edge of the patio.

"I'm on it," said Albert, jumping down from Gaogamon's back. He ran over to Ramiro and helped him lift Diandra back onto the patio.

"Thanks, what are you two doing here?" Diandra asked.

"No problem. We saw a Digimon appear close by here so we thought you might need backup," Albert replied.

Diandra reached for her Digivice and pulled it out to summon her partner. "You so picked the wrong night to mess with me. Renamon, let's get rid of this Digimon!" Renamon appeared before them in a bright flash of light. "Now then, Digi-Charge!"

_Renamon Digivolved to… Kyubimon_

Monochromon was now surrounded by the team's Digimon. The Digimon tried to find a way to escape, looking around for a break in the formation.

Ankylomon took the chance to attack. "Tail Hammer!" The attack threw Monochromon into the air.

"Wolf Squad, let's give him our team attack!" said Albert. Their three partners stood by each other.

"Spiraling Flames!" said Albert, Michelle, and Diandra altogether. The three Digimon launched their attacks at once. The cyclone from Gaogamon caught the attacks from Renamon and Garurumon, creating a blue tornado encased in flames. The attack struck the Digimon, causing his Digital Code to appear.

"Do the honors Diandra," said Albert.

"Right, Digital Capture!" said Diandra, scanning the Digimon's code. The code created a card that came to Diandra's hand.

"That's another wild one neutralized," said Ramiro, grasping his shoulder. The Digimon returned to their rookie forms.

"You ok Ram?" asked Armadillomon.

"Yeah, I'll live," laughed Ramiro.

"Let me take a look at your shoulder and get you patched up," smiled Albert. The two of them called back their partners and started to leave the area. Diandra and Michelle did the same and followed them.

Michelle leaned over to Diandra "What did he want to tell you?"

Diandra just giggled a bit then continued walking.

"Why won't anybody tell me anything?!" exclaimed Michelle.


	12. Ch 12 The Book Mystery

_**CH. 12 The Book Mystery**_

The inside of the DECA Library was almost silent. Cody tried to keep himself awake reading the book in front of him. Cody, TJ, Ernie, JR, and Eric were all stuck in the library reading by order of their respective Commanders. Ernie, JR, and Eric were now wearing their squad's uniforms, which consisted of brown hiking boots, dark blue jeans, and a green under shirt with a brown vest. The emblem of a bear was imprinted in green on the front of the vest on the upper right section.

"Why do we have to study all this stuff?" groaned Cody, flipping through the pages of the book.

"Because we have to 'train not only our bodies but our minds,'" sighed Eric.

"So says Commander Titan," added JR.

"What I'd give to get out of here right now" Ernie added.

"It's not fun for us either," said Guilmon from inside TJ's Digivice.

"We're just as bored as you guys," put in Agumon from Cody's Digivice.

"Hey Cody, put this book away for me," said Eric, throwing the book in his hands toward Cody. Cody reached to grab the book but missed. The book hit a nearby book shelf, causing another book on the top to fall onto the ground.

"Nice one," laughed Ernie as Cody got up to pick up the fallen books. Cody observed the book that fell from the top of the shelf and looked over it. It was an old and tattered, bound in a black cover and about the size of a diary. The DECA logo was imprinted on the front of the book but was fading. Cody placed Eric's book back on the shelf and brought the older book with him back to the table where the guys were sitting.

"What's that?" asked TJ, looking at the book.

"No idea, it fell off the shelf when Eric's book collided with it," Cody replied, flipping through the pages, the group looking on. All the writing was done by hand, but it used symbols instead of letters. There were some hand drawn pictures but the guys could not make heads nor tails of what they were reading.

"Ok, what in the world does all that say?" asked TJ.

"No idea. One way to find out though," said Cody, getting out of his seat with the book in his hand, the guys following. Cody walked up and down the rows of shelves till he found Erin looking over a few book titles.

"Hey Erin, what does this say?" asked Cody, handing her the book.

Erin took the book and looked over its contents.

"Where did you find this?"

"On one of the shelves in the back, it kinda fell out."

"Anything you've seen before?" asked JR.

"I've never read or seen anything like this," said Erin, still flipping through the pages.

"Hey Erin, I brought this month's medical reports from the Medical Ward," said Albert, walking towards her with two rather large, white binders in his hands. He then placed the two binders on a nearby shelf.

"Oh thanks, I'll put them in the record room in a bit. Hey Albert, does this look familiar to you?" She handed Albert the old, black book.

Albert took the book and scanned over the pages, giving the same puzzled look as the others. He closed the book and observed the cover. "I've never seen anything like this before. Maybe the archives have the translation for this."

"Think you can look through them to figure out what is says?" said Ernie.

"I can give it a shot if someone would open up the archives for me," said Albert, smiling at Erin.

"Ok but I want to help too." Albert and Erin said their goodbyes to the others and headed toward the front of the library.

"Our luck, we find something to read that's interesting and we can't even understand it," said JR. The guys let out a laugh then stopped when their Digivices began to start flashing a red light.

"Looks like we got a Digimon to take care of," Eric observed. The guys nodded and took off toward the control room, all too eager to leave the silent library.

The guys reached the control room and were met by Jackie, AJ, and Fabian. Commanders Titan, Pyro, and Aria entered at once. Commander Aria sat in front of the main computer and called up a window on the screen. Two separate Digimon pictures appeared on the screen.

"The one on the left is Snimon, a champion level, insect type Digimon. You do not want to be on the end of his Twin Sickles attack or else you'll be cut to shreds," said Commander Pyro. The Digimon he spoke of was rather large and resembled a praying mantis. The Digimon was a deep green color and had two long claws that looked like scythes.

"The one on the right is Starmon, a champion level Digimon. Starmon use their Meteor Shower attack to strike their enemies," put in Commander Titan. As the name implied, Starmon had a body in the shape of a star with a set of arms and legs sticking out of its body.

"Two Digimon at once is a rare occurrence. We'll need two squads to handle both of them at once," said Commander Aria.

"Our squad is broken right now," said AJ.

"Gerald is off with Stephen right now," added Fabian.

"We'll just have to break and rearrange a few things for now," said Commander Aqua, entering the room."Cody, accompany the Bear squad and capture Snimon. TJ, you and Jackie can join the remaining Tiger Squad members and capture Starmon."

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Commander Pyro

"Snimon has appeared on the northern outskirts of town while Starmon has appeared in the downtown area of Cyber City. We'll notify the police to seal off the area in the city that Starmon has appeared in to give you kids a chance to fight and not hurt anybody," said Commander Titan.

"Let's roll on out guys," said Ernie, leading the DECA agents out of the room.

Cody and the members of the Bear squad reached the outskirts of the city to see Snimon currently heading for a nearby suburb. The group pulled out their Digivices and called out their partners one by one.

"Agumon, time to get to work," said Cody summoning Agumon.

"Agumon, let's get to work," said Ernie, summoning his Agumon. Ernie's Agumon looked almost exactly the same as Cody's Agumon, minus the arm bands.

"So you're the other Agumon in DECA," said Cody's Agumon.

"And you must be the other," said Ernie's Agumon with a smile.

"Veemon, we got a Digimon to take care of," said Eric, calling out his partner. A small blue and white lizard-like creature appeared before Eric. The Digimon had a pair of brown eyes and could stand on two legs.

"Yahoo! I get to play again!" smiled Veemon.

"Let's do this Monodramon," said JR, calling out his partner. Monodramon resembled a pterodactyl like creature in a deep purple color. A small gold horn grew on the top of his head.

"Let's do this buddy," said Cody as his aura surrounded his body. Cody preformed the usual movements, then placed his hand over his Digivice.

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

Ernie, Eric, and JR preformed the same movements as Cody while their auras appeared around their bodies. Each of their auras matched their Digivice colors.

_Agumon Digivolved to… Greymon_

_Veemon Digivolved to… Veedramon_

_Monodramon Digivolved to… Strikedramon_

Greymon closely resembled GeoGreymon but was a bit pudgier than him. Greymon also lacked the added spikes that GeoGreymon had on the back of his arms. Veedramon was essentially a larger form of Veemon but now had a v shaped mark on his chest along with two horns growing from the back of his head. His claws were now extended and he was about the same size as Greymon. Strikedramon took on a more human-like form, with pieces of armor on his purple colored body and now wore a pair of raggedy, green pants.

Snimon took notice of the new Digimon that had appeared and began to fly toward the team. Snimon lifted its scythe like arms and swung them, hurling two energy beams in the shape of a crescent flying toward the team. The group's Digimon quickly evaded the attack.

"Let me start things off, Strike Fang!" yelled Strikedramon, charging toward Snimon. Flames began to appear around Strikedramon as he dashed toward Snimon. Strikedramon quickly leapt into the air and rammed right into Snimon. causing the flames to cover Snimon's body.

"You don't get to have all the fun, V-Nova Blast!" said Veedramon, crossing his arms over his chest. The v mark began to glow then shot forward once Veedramon uncrossed his arms. The attack collided with Snimon, causing the wild Digimon to crash to the ground.

"I'll finish this, Nova Blast!" said Greymon, launching a giant fire ball from his mouth.

"Don't leave me out, Mega Flame!" said GeoGreymon, releasing a steady stream of flames toward Snimon.

Greymon's and GeoGreymon's attacks fused together, forming a comet-like ball of fire that crashed into Snimon. The bug Digimon let out a loud cry as a ring of data appeared around the creature.

"If I remember correctly, it's my turn to seal up a Digimon, Digital Capture!" yelled Eric, scanning the Digimon's Data with his Digivice. Snimon was soon encased into a card that slowly floated into Eric's palm. The team's Digimon partners let out a loud roar then returned to their rookie forms.

"Good work guys," congratulated JR.

"Let's head back guys, I want to know if Albert figured out what that journal says yet," said Cody. The guys nodded then recalled their partners back to their Digivices. It wasn't long till they were headed back toward DECA HQ with the newly captured Digimon.


	13. Ch 13 Decoding the Book

_**CH. 13 Decoding the Book**_

"So where's the loose Digimon?" asked Jackie, looking around.

The group of Jackie, TJ, Fabian, and AJ had reached the downtown area of Cyber City. Their Digivices gave them clearance by any police officer to pass through the set barricades blocking off this area. The skyscrapers towered high into the sky overhead.

"A Digimon that looks like a star, you'd think it would be easy to find," sighed TJ.

"Meteor Shower!" echoed a voice, followed by the sound of glass shattering.

"Think we got something," said Fabian, turning toward the sound of the attack.

"You think?" smirked AJ.

The group ran toward the sound of the attack to find a star-shaped Digimon running around attacking the buildings. The team pulled out their Digivices; Fabian had a teal Digivice and AJ a forest green one.

"Hawkmon, let's go," said Jackie, calling out Hawkmon.

"Guilmon, time to get to work," said TJ, calling out Guilmon from his Digivice.

"Kamemon, let's get to work," said Fabian calling out his partner. Kamemon resembled a turtle with teal skin, a green shell, and a yellow spot on his stomach. A large blue hat sat atop his head, covering his eyes.

"Ready when you are, Fabian," yawned the Digimon.

"Falcomon, let's do this," said AJ, summoning his partner. Falcomon looked similar to an owl with black feathers, large yellow eyes, and a purple vest. Red marks on his face surrounded his eyes.

"Right AJ," responded the Digimon.

"First let's get his attention over here so he can stop destroying the city," said Fabian.

"On it, Met Knuckle!" said Kamemon, entering his shell and rolling toward Starmon at full speed. The attack collided with Starmon, sending him tumbling on the ground.

"Allow me, Ninja Blade!" said Falcomon, opening his wings wide. A series of small, star like objects shot toward the rouge Digimon, striking him directly. Starmon turned and faced the group, looking rather angry.

"I think we got its attention," said Jackie.

"Yeah, let's do this guys. Digi-Charge!" said TJ, performing the usual movements and placing his hand over his Digivice. The others preformed the same motions as TJ.

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Kamemon Digivolved to… Gwappamon_

_Falcomon Digivolved to… Peckmon_

Gwappamon still retained his turtle-like form, but with lighter colored teal skin, an orange colored shell, orange colored hair, and a tan spot on his stomach. The odd thing was that now Gwappamon had webbed feet and a duck bill with what looked like a CD on his head. Peckmon resembled an ostrich with purple feathers on his front and legs and light yellow feathers on his wings. A yellow scarf was now around his neck along with spots of orange feathers on the tips of his body.

"DJ Shooter!" said Gwappamon, leaping into the air. His hands moved over his head, sending several discs toward Starmon. The discs sent Starmon toppling back onto the ground; the Digimon climbed back onto his feet and raised his hands into the air.

"Meteor Shower!" said the Digimon, and flaming rocks rained down on the team.

"This will stop the attack. Blast Rings!" said Aquilamon, sending her crimson colored rings toward the rocks, shattering them into tiny pieces.

"Pyro Blaster!" said Growlmon, sending a red orb flying toward Starmon, who took the attack and stood dazed.

"This will end things, Kunai Wing!" said Peckmon, flapping his wings. Several small kunai blades shot toward Starmon, exploding on impact. A ring of data appeared around Starmon as he stood frozen.

"Time to seal things up, Digital Capture!" said AJ, scanning the Digimon's data. Starmon was soon turned into a card which then floated into AJ's hand. The team's Digimon cheered and then reverted back to the rookie stage.

"That ends things here," smiled Jackie.

"Yep another job well done guys," said Fabian, giving a thumbs-up.

"Let's get back to the base. I'm dying to know what Albert and Erin found out about that book we found earlier," said TJ, heading back for the jeep. The others followed with the newly captured Digimon in hand.

--

"What did you find out Albert?" asked Cody. He, Ernie, TJ, JR, and Eric had found Albert the second they reached DECA HQ. Once they had returned from their respective missions, they quickly gave the captured Digimon to Commander Titan and taken off to find him. They were all in one of the building's various viewing platforms, the sun setting in the distance.

"Well, I got good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?" asked Ernie.

"There is a translation to the book's code."

"And the bad news?" questioned JR.

"I haven't decoded the book with it yet. I took me forever to figure out the code. Dr. Antonio had to tell me what it was."

"Dr. Antonio told you the code. How did he know about it?" asked Eric.

"Well…" started Albert, recalling the events earlier.

"_I give up Erin, we searched through every data base and came up with nothing," groaned Albert, closing one of the books in front of him._

"_I can't figure it out. Every language, every alphabet, every code known to man… nothing," sighed Erin._

"_I need to go sign out at the Medical Ward and figure out a way to tell the guys the bad news," said Albert as he got up and left the room with the book in hand._

"_Ok, I'll tell you if I find any leads with the book," said Erin as Albert left the archives._

_Albert dragged himself to the Medical Ward, still tired from reading almost the entire day. He entered Dr. Antonio's office to sign out of his duty for the day. Dr. Antonio was standing by a book shelf in his office, looking over a few medical reports. As Albert began signing the entry sheet, Dr. Antonio caught sight of the book in Albert's hand._

"_What you got there, Albert?" asked the doctor._

"_Oh this thing? Cody found it in the library and I've been trying to decode the contents ever since. I tried everything and came up with nothing." Albert handed Dr. Antonio the book. _

_Dr. Antonio took the book and looked over its contents with a smile .He handed the book back to Albert with a laugh. "I haven't seen Digi-Code in a very long time."_

"_Digi-Code?" Albert asked a very confused look on his face._

"_Yes, right when DECA had first started out, the Commanders set up a code so that they could keep certain information secret. Only a select few knew the code by heart, including me and my wife. I have a book with the translation if you want it. The Digi-Code has been a forgotten art, might be interesting to see you kids use it again." Dr. Antonio walking over to his desk and pulled out a small, blue book and handed it to Albert._

"_Thanks Dr. Antonio," said Albert with a smile as he left the room._

"_Oh, Albert, could you hold on for a second?" asked the doctor._

"_Sure, what's up?" asked Albert with a smile._

"_I have a small favor to ask. I and my wife have to go to a medical conference on Saturday but we had already promised to take Louie to the Cyber City Museum that day also. Think you can take him for us?"_

"_Sure, I have Saturday as my day off so it's perfect. Just tell him to wait Saturday morning and I'll be more than happy to take him." _

"_Thanks, we owe you one."_

"_Giving me the Digi-Code translation is thanks enough," laughed Albert, leaving the office._

"… and there you have it" finished Albert, showing the group the small blue book that Dr. Antonio had given him.

"So when can you start translating the book?" asked Cody anxiously.

"Right away I hope. I have a few things to do in the Medical Ward along with any missions that may come up during the week. I'll leave the books with Erin for now and hopefully she can figure out the code until I have time to sit down and work on it myself."

"Alright, keep us waiting, why don't you?" laughed TJ.


	14. Ch 14 Down in the Dumps

_**Ch. 14 Down in the Dumps**_

It was early the next morning that the members of the Lion Squad, along with Commander Titan, met atop the DECA HQ roof on one of the helicopter pads. The sky was still dark, only a sliver of sunlight peaking over the horizon. A large black helicopter was waiting for the members of the squad to board. Each member had a large duffle bag thrown over his shoulders.

"Are you men ready to go?" asked Commander Titan.

"Sir, yes sir!" responded the squad in unison, saluting the Commander.

"Good. Now you may all board and take off for your mission. Before you go though, I must say how honored I am to see one of my squads move up to this level in DECA."

"It is our privilege to work under you Commander Titan," said Juan.

Commander Titan nodded and opened the door to the chopper. The members boarded one by one. Before Ramiro could board, he stopped to look one more time at the horizon.

"Ramiro… wait!" yelled a voice. Ramiro turned to see Diandra running up the helicopter pad with his dog tags hanging around her neck.

"I think I'll leave you two alone. See you when you three come back," said Commander Titan, walking off the helicopter pad.

Diandra finally reached the chopper and tried to catch her breath.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ramiro.

"I wanted to see you off," smiled Diandra.

"You know you didn't have to do that."

"I know but… I just felt that I had to."

"I'll be back in a few days, two week tops."

"I'll be waiting then. I'm gonna miss you."

"And I'm gonna miss you. When I get back we're gonna do something, just the two of us."

"I can't wait," laughed Diandra. Ramiro leaned over and gave Diandra a small kiss on her forehead before boarding the helicopter and closing the door.

"You have to get off the helicopter pad now so that the copter can take off," smiled Commander Aria, placing her hand on Diandra's shoulder. The two of them exited the pad to watch the helicopter take off and head for the sunrise.

"Please come back to me," whispered Diandra to herself.

"Let get inside Diandra. It's freezing up here," laughed Commander Aria as she entered the building, Diandra still staring into the sunrise.

--

"How is she?" asked Michelle, leaning over to Albert.

"Still depressed."

The two of them watched in on Diandra as she sat alone on one of the viewing platforms, looking through the window into the deep blue sky. She sat there with a very solemn expression on her face. A handkerchief in her hand suggested that she had been crying for sometime; she clenched Ramiro's dog tags in her hands.

"She's been acting like that all day. What's making her so sad?" whispered Michelle.

"Her boyfriend left on some dangerous mission with the chance of no return. Of course she's going to be worried and depressed. Let's try and cheer her up," said Albert, walking over to Diandra, Michelle following close behind.

"Hey Diandra, want to go down to the cafeteria for dinner? They made your favorite dessert, strawberry cheese cake," smiled Michelle.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Let's go downtown and get some ice cream. They're having a special on double chocolate swirl at Freezies," suggested Albert.

"I'm not in the mood for ice cream."

"But it's your favorite," frowned Albert.

"Correction, that's your favorite," laughed Gaomon from inside the Digivice.

"Shut up Gaomon," snapped Albert.

"We could go take a walk in the park or catch a movie," added Michelle.

"Oh, we could mess with Professor Kroger or go swimming," put in Albert.

"No thanks. You guys go on ahead," said Diandra, still looking despondent.

Albert and Michelle just shrugged and left the room, leaving Diandra alone. Commander Aria stood in the doorway, watching the whole thing.

"No luck cheering her up huh kiddos?"

"Nope, we tried everything that the three of us always do together and she just won't budge," sighed Albert.

"Let me talk to her. I think I know how to help her."

--

Gerald stood looking out the window in one of the many hallways in DECA HQ, deep in thought. AJ and Fabian found their partner and tried to talk with him.

"Going to the gym to train, want to come with?" asked AJ.

"Nah, you guys go on ahead," said Gerald, still looking out the window.

"We're gonna meet up with a few guys to play some basketball later, want to hang with us? We could us you on our team," Fabian suggested.

"You guys go. I have to clear my head for a bit." Gerald left his teammates and walked down the hallway alone. Fabian and AJ just shrugged and made their way to the gym to get in some training for the day.

Gerald walked down the hallway thinking to himself that he had never expected that seeing his brother leave would make him feel so depressed.

"What's wrong buddy, you never pass up the chance to hang with your teammates…." asked Coronamon from inside the Digivice.

"I don't know, I just never thought that I'd miss my brother this much. It was great to spend the day together yesterday but now with him gone… I just feel empty."

"Funny isn't it. Though you have your arguments and fights, you still care about each others' well being," said Commander Pyro, walking up to Gerald.

"Yeah… I guess so," said Gerald.

"It's alright to miss your brother Gerald. I would be worried about him too if I was in your position. His mission isn't an easy one, you know."

"What mission are they going on anyways?" asked Coronamon.

"That, my fine feline friend, is a secret. I'm sure you'll find out when they get back," laughed the Commander.

"Yeah, I'll find out one way or another," smiled Gerald. "Thanks Commander Pyro."

"No problem, now go catch up with your squad and have some fun. You never pass up a game of basketball."

Gerald just smiled and took off running down the hall, trying to catch up with his squad. Commander Pyro smiled, watching Gerald catching up with is group.

--

"You still bummed about Ramiro leaving, honey?" asked Commander Aria, taking a seat next to Diandra.

"Yeah… I'm just scared something will happen to him and he won't come back."

"I wouldn't worry about that. The Lion squad is one of our toughest, not as tough as one of my wolf cubs though."

Diandra let out a weak smile at the commander's comment.

"Did he promise to come back to you Diandra?"

"Yes, he did."

"Then he'll keep that promise. Just have faith that he will come back one day."

"He's never broken a promise to you yet," added Renamon from within the Digivice.

"That's true. I guess I'll just have to get on with things here till Ramiro gets back," smiled Diandra.

"That's the spirit. Why don't you go catch up with Albert and Michelle and go get some ice cream? You know how much Albert loves that double chocolate swirl."

"Thanks Commander Aria," said Diandra giving her Commander a hug and heading out the room to find Albert and Michelle.

"No problem, bring me a Strawberry Sunday!" yelled Commander Aria.

"Will do!"


	15. Ch 15 Day at the Museum

_**Ch. 15 Day at the Museum**_

The week went by rather fast for the members of DECA. Fall was in full swing now and the temperatures began to drop slowly. Albert walked to the DECA HQ rather early Saturday to pick up Louie so that they could go on their trip to the museum. He arrived through the usual fashion and headed for the control room where Jackie, Cody, Kelsey, and Erin were all preoccupied with something.

"Morning Albert," smiled Kelsey.

"Morning."

"Ready to take Louie to the museum today?" asked Jackie, finishing her work on a computer.

"Yep, is he here already?"

"Umm… I think so, Louie should be down in the Medical Ward waiting for you," Jackie replied.

"Ok, you guys want to come too? The more the merrier I always say," laughed Albert.

"I'm not doing anything so I'll go," said Jackie.

"Same with me so I'll come along," added Kelsey.

"Gonna stay here and work on translating this book," sighed Erin, deep in her work.

"Think I'm gonna train with the guys today so I'll be here," said Cody.

"Come with us Cody," said Kelsey.

"Please…" said Jackie, looking at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Oh no, it's the look," laughed Albert.

"But… I… was… gonna… ok I'll come…." groaned Cody, his plans shut down for the day.

"Great!" laughed Kelsey and Jackie.

"So let's go get Louie and then head out," said Albert, leading the team toward the Medical Ward.

--

"Thanks for taking me to the museum today, guys," smiled Louie as he walked along side Albert.

"It's no problem buddy," Albert assured him with a smile.

The group had reached the museum entrance and was currently buying tickets. The building itself was massive; the whole front section of the museum was one giant window. After purchasing their tickets, the team entered the structure to find the inside area just as big as the outside. Many groups of people hurried from place to place rapidly, seeing all that the museum had to offer.

"Look like they have a 'World of the Past' exhibit set up just for today. It features a fossilized Dinosaur egg, just discovered, and a diamond about the size of a human fist," read Kelsey from a pamphlet that she had picked up at the ticket line.

"That sounds cool. I want to see that first. The dinosaur stuff is my favorite to see," said Louie excitedly.

"Love this kid already," smiled Cody.

"So do I," added Agumon from the Digivice.

The team laughed and headed to the upstairs area of the museum to see the newly set up exhibit. Finding the display wasn't hard to do. Various dinosaur fossils and skeletons filled up a whole section of the museum. Louie's eyes lit up when he saw the sights before him; he scrambled to look at every display while Albert and Cody tried to keep up with the youth.

Jackie and Kelsey walked over to see the diamond that the pamphlet had mentioned. They found the item in the center of the room illuminated by various lights. The diamond was cut into the shape of a pyramid with an odd symbol etched onto each of the four faces. The clear crystal showed that a hole of some kinds was made at the bottom of the pyramid.

"That looks so beautiful," said Jackie, admiring the jewel.

"Wouldn't mind having one of those made into a ring," sighed Kelsey.

Meanwhile, Cody, Albert, and Louie found the newly discovered dinosaur egg at the edge of the museum exhibit. The egg was colored in a bright yellow and nestled in a small nest. The three of them looked over the egg, Louie practically in awe over the prehistoric artifact.

"That's so cool," said Louie.

"Huh?" said Albert, mostly to himself.

"What is it?" asked Cody.

"The egg looks kinda new, like it was never touched by time," explained Albert.

"Really, now that you mention it, the egg does look new. Unlike all the other fossilized eggs, this one looks like it was just laid," said Cody, still examining the egg. Louie wasn't even paying attention to what the guys were saying. His mind was still in wonder over the sights that the display had to offer.

A faint beeping sound could be heard amongst the crowds of people. Albert reached into his pocket and pulled out a communication headset and put it on.

"Hey Albert, it's me Erin," said a voice through the headset.

"I figured that," said Albert sarcastically "What's up?"

"I took a break from decoding the book and read over an article in the newspaper on that new exhibit at the museum today. I saw the pictures of the egg and diamond that the archeologists discovered. At first I thought nothing of it but when I returned to decoding the book, I found out something about that diamond pyramid and egg. They're really… oh great we got a problem…."

"Ok, what's going on?" asked Albert. Cody took notice of Albert's change in mood and walked over to him. Louie still looked at the egg in wonder.

"A Digimon has appeared near the museum. It's a Hyogamon, champion ice type Digimon. His attack style is freezing his opponents with his Snow Punch attack and attacking their frozen opponents with the crystals that grow on their backs."

"Ok… where is the Digi…" started Albert, but a loud crashing sound followed by shattering glass and people screaming filled the air. A medium-sized Digimon appeared, resembling an ogre of sorts. It had blue skin, long messy grey hair, black pants, sharp fangs, and a series of crystals growing from his back.

"Crystal… egg… crystal… egg…" moaned the Digimon as it headed for the diamond in the center of the room.

"I'll call you back later," said Albert, pocketing the headset. "Gaomon, we got a problem to deal with."

"Agumon, time to get to work."

Both the Digimon appeared suddenly in a burst of bright light. The two of them stood in an attack stance. Kelsey and Jackie ran up to Albert and Cody and called out their partners to the scene.

"Hawkmon, let's go."

"Lunamon, we have a wild one here."

Hawkmon appeared followed by a small Digimon with a light pink dress wearing a bright pink ribbon around her neck. The Digimon had white fur with four long ears, gentle-looking eyes, and a small curl of hair reaching out in front of the Digimon. Bands of purple fur wrapped around each ear along with a crescent moon design on her forehead.

"Hi Kelsey," said the Digimon innocently.

"Hey Lunamon, think you can get that Digimon's attention over here for a sec?" smiled Kelsey.

"I can try, Tear Shot!" said Lunamon. The curly of fur on her forehead began to glow in a light blue color then shot off a small, tear drop shaped energy blast that collided with Hyogamon. The Digimon let out a cry of pain, but still headed for the glass case containing the diamond pyramid. The Digimon slammed its fist into the case then picked up the gem. It soon began to head for the egg display.

"Not the attention grabber we wanted," sighed Cody.

"Let's just seal it up already. Louie, we need you to go hide… What happened to Louie?" asked Albert, looking around rather panicked.

"What happened to the egg?" added Kelsey, pointing at a now empty nest.

"I got it guys!" yelled Louie from across the room, the egg in his arms. Hyogamon took notice of Louie and began to charge for him.

"Louie!" yelled Albert as his Digital Aura began to form around him. Albert placed his hand over his Digivice as the others did the same.

_Gaomon Digivolved to… Gaogamon_

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Lunamon Digivolved to… Lekismon_

Lekismon resembled a tall rabbit with light pink fur, black gloves, long ears, and a grey mask on her face. The crescent moon designs, purple bands, and ribbons were still on her body. She still kept her gentle demeanor even over her large, fierce looking form.

Gaogamon sprinted as quickly as he could to grab Hyogamon with his large fangs, throwing him to the ground. Hyogamon toppled onto the ground, releasing the diamond pyramid. Aquilamon swooped down from overhead and picked up the gem with her claws.

"You ok Louie?" asked Albert, finally reaching Louie.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Lekismon raised her ears into the air, causing them to glow in a bright blue color. She then aimed her ears toward Hyogamon, who was trying to get up off the ground.

"Tear Arrow!" said Lekismon, sending two arrows made out of solid ice toward the fallen Digimon. The attack nailed its target with ease.

"You can't have all the fun. Mega Flame!" said GeoGreymon, sending his stream of fire onto Hyogamon. The Digimon cried in agony as his body burned from the fire. His digital Code began to form a ring around his body.

"I wanna do this. Digital Capture!" said Kelsey, scanning the Digimon's data and converting it into a card. She grabbed the newly formed card and pocketed it. All the teams' Digimon returned to their rookie stages, Hawkmon handed Jackie the gem, and Albert pulled out his headset once again to talk to Erin.

"We sealed the Digimon. We just need to think of an excuse for the attack and give back the egg and gem to the museum."

"Don't worry about that. Bring them both back to HQ. The pyramid is actually described in this book and the egg is a Digi-Egg. The Commanders have ordered that you bring them back to HQ ASAP."

"Ok, will do Erin…" said Albert, but he forgot his words as his jaw dropped at the sight before him.

The egg in Louie's arms began to sway back and forth as small cracks began to appear on its surface. The egg began to break apart, revealing a bright white light. One beam of light flew across the room and then to Louie's palm, forming a yellow Digivice. The remaining pieces fell to the ground while a Digimon began to form from the remaining light. The Digimon that formed looked rather cute; it was pudgy with orange fur on top of its body and tan fur on the bottom. It had large, slender wings growing from it head. The Digimon had blue eyes and let out a cute yawn and then smiled at Louie while still in his arms.

"Are you my partner?" asked the Digimon.

"I think so… my name is Louie."

"Ok, my name is Patamon," smiled the Digimon.

"Hey look Albert, I got my own partner!" exclaimed Louie.

"That's great buddy…" said Albert, spellbound. He then contacted Erin again with the head set

"Erin, we got a situation."


	16. Ch 16 Newest Addition

_**Ch. 16 Newest Addition**_

"That makes two of them discovered so far," sighed Commander Aqua, holding the diamond pyramid in her hands.

"So that means we got one half of the ruby pyramid and one half of the diamond pyramid," said Commander Aria taking the gem in Aqua's hands. She then approached a large circular pedestal in the center of the room they were currently in. The pedestal was made almost completely out of steel with ten podiums following the circular sides of the holder. She placed the diamond gem onto one of the podiums adjacent to a ruby pyramid with the same size and shape as the diamond one. The only difference was the markings on the faces of the pyramid.

"So I guess it won't be long till the kids figure out what is going on," spoke Aqua as she pressed a code into a nearby key pad. A glass case lowered itself over the pedestal, sealing off the pyramids from others.

"With the rate Albert and Erin are going, it won't be too long," added Commander Pyro.

"Should we just tell them then?" asked Aria.

"No, they will learn more if they figure it out by themselves. If my squad can complete their mission, none of this will be necessary, just another legend," put in Commander Titan.

"So did you're squad they reach their destination yet?" asked Aqua.

"Yes they did. Their mission only gets harder from here," sighed Titan.

"Oh boy, first we find these gems popping up everywhere, next we learn about our little rat problem, then we have a new Digimon partner appearing… never a dull moment around here," smirked Pyro.

"Speaking of the partners, we'd better talk to the Antonio and Veronica soon, they must be concerned with their son's future here," said Aqua. The four commanders left the room together, Titan sealing off the room as he left.

--

"So what did you find out about that pyramid thing?" asked Cody. He and Erin had met in the library so that Erin could discuss the book's contents in private.

"Well the pyramids are called Element Stones and symbolize the forces of nature. There are ten gems representing the elements of fire, wind, ice, thunder, light, steel, water, wood, earth, and darkness. The gems were actually full diamond shapes at one point but then split into halves due to some unknown force. They have some connection with ten legendary Digimon but I haven't translated enough to figure out anything other than that. Still working on it though."

"Anything else?" said Cody.

"Well, from what I did start translating, the ten legendary Digimon once held the balance of the Digital World in their hands. They brought order and peace to all the Digimon who resided in the Digital World. This is where things get interesting. The ten legendary heroes each represented the ten natural elements."

"And…" said Cody anxiously

"And that's where I stopped, bit of a cliffhanger there."

"Does Albert know about all this yet?"

"Yes, I filled him in when you guys were heading back over to HQ. He has a few theories like that you guys had found the first half of the Light Gem, or so he called it."

"Where is Albert anyways?"

"In the control room, the Commanders are meeting with Louie and his parents to discuss his partner."

"Wonder what's gonna happen to the kid?"

"If he's joined by a Digimon partner and given a Digivice, then he has to join DECA or his partner will be sent away. Thing is, nobody Louie's age has ever joined DECA before so nobody really knows what to do."

"Hate to see the kid and his partner torn away from each other. They just met and it's already like they're best friends."

--

Saying Louie was petrified standing before all four commanders would be an understatement. He was nervous to hear their judgment on whether he got to keep Patamon or not. They had just met hours ago and now they were connected like best friends. Patamon just sat on Louie's head, wondering what was going on.

"Well Louie, as young as you are, you can see the predicament we are in," spoke Commander Aqua.

"The youngest member to ever join DECA was only fourteen and you're ten," added Commander Aria.

"It's not that… we don't want you to join but…" Commander Pyro started, searching for the right word to say.

"You age prohibits you from serving DECA the way the other member do," finished Commander Titan.

"Can I at least stay with Patamon till I am old enough to?"

"Sorry kiddo… but Patamon has to…" started Commander Aria.

"No. I want Patamon to stay," said Louie, tears starting to form.

"Isn't there something we can do?" asked Dr. Antonio.

"Couldn't he have special training or anything like that?" questioned Dr. Veronica.

"Sorry, but we don't have that kinda of facilities here or anywhere," frowned Commander Aqua.

"I'm afraid you must say goodbye to Patamon, Louie," said Commander Pyro.

"It's for the best," added Commander Titan.

Louie grabbed Patamon and hugged his newly gotten partner. He didn't want to let go for anything in the world. If they were going to split him and Patamon apart, they'd have a hard time doing so.

"Wait!" yelled Albert, running into the room, Michelle and Diandra hot on his heels.

"You said we didn't have the facilities to do this right? Which pretty much means nobody knows what to do or what to get or who can teach somebody how to properly control a Digital Aura, right?" asked Albert.

"Yes, that is correct," said Commander Aqua.

"What if I taught Louie how to use the aura? You know, I'll be his teacher and he'll be my student, apprentice, protégé, anything like that."

"Well… it's never been done before… I suppose that maybe…." spoke Commander Aria.

"Yeah?" said Louie with a tone of excitement.

"This will be too much for you handle by yourself Albert. You have enough on your plate as it is," said Commander Titan.

"We'll help him," put in Michelle.

"Yeah, if Louie sees how we all were able to do it, he might just find a way that suits him to perform a Digi-Charge," added Diandra.

"I like where this is going. You kids have found an answer to our little problem," smiled Commander Pyro.

"We'll help him too," said Jackie as she and her squad appeared in one of the doorways.

"Wolf squad can't teach him everything. The Bear squad will help make him strong," added Ernie as he and his squad entered the control room.

"Ugh, with Bear squad teaching him he'll end up like the Lion squad members, all brawn and no brains. Dragon squad will educate him properly," smiled Erin as she and her squad entered the room.

"Then he'll end up a brainiac. Better let us Tiger squad member teach him a thing or two," smiled Gerald as his squad entered the room.

"All I can say is wow… I never thought you kids felt this strong about helping a new agent," said Commander Aqua.

"When we first met our partners, we never wanted to be separated," spoke TJ.

"We didn't want that to happen to Louie," added Kelsey.

"So once Albert told us what he had planned, we rallied the squads and well, we will teach him everything ourselves," put in Brandi.

"Guess the stuff we have been teaching you kids has sunk in," laughed Commander Pyro.

"It should have, it was all my doing," said Commander Aqua with pride.

"So can I keep Patamon then?" asked Louie.

"Look like it. Guess your Commander is gonna be all the DECA agents," smiled Commander Aria.

Louie was so excited he hugged his partner tightly. Patamon struggled to escape his grip while everybody laughed. Albert noticed something appear around Louie for a second. A bright yellow aura appeared, then vanished just as quickly.

"Looks like I know where to start his training then," said Albert to himself silently.


	17. Ch 17 The Invention Squad

_**Ch. 17 The Invention Squad**_

Albert sat in the main control room looking over a few files on the computer. Cody and his squad entered the room as Albert was completing his work on the computer. Albert pulled out a small disc in one of the computer's modems and placed it in a small case as the Falcon squad approached.

"What cha up to Albert?" asked Jackie with a smile.

"Nothing much, I'm just making a record of all the information that we have learned from that old book so far. The more we learn about those gems and legendary Digimon, the more I can update this newer version of the book" said Albert showing them the disc.

"That's cool. At least you won't have to decode the book again once you're done. Where's the little guy?" said Cody looking around for Louie.

"Oh, since he's now a member of DECA, Pricilla and Clarissa thought it would be good for him to have his own uniform so they took Louie to the tailors to make him one" answered Albert.

"Hey Albert, we have the new gear you asked for" said a male voice. The group turned to see another squad enter the control room. Their uniforms consisted of a pair of blue jeans, white sneakers, yellow undershirt, a bright lime green vest, and a set of yellow wrist bands. The symbol of a praying mantis was highlighted in yellow on the back of their vests.

"Oh yeah, you guys haven't met our technicians, better known as the Mantis squad." said Albert.

"So these are the guys that make all of our equipment and gear" said Cody.

"Yep this is Andrew, who comes up with the ideas for gear, Ann, who designs the gear, and Javi, who makes the gear." introduced Albert as he pointed to each member of the squad. "Guys, this is the Falcon squad. That's Cody, Jackie, and TJ"

"Nice to meet you guys" said Ann. Ann was the shortest member of the team with a dark skin tone and a bit scrawny. She had long brown hair and an olive colored Digivice attached to her vest.

"Finally we get to meet you guys" smiled Andrew. Andrew was the tallest one the group with short black hair, lean body type, and had a light skin tone. A lime green Digivice was also attached to his vest pocket.

"Funny how you've been here for a while now and we haven't met yet" laughed the final member of the squad. Javi was only taller than Ann by an foot or so and had almost the same skin tone, just a bit lighter. A solid green Digivice was connected to his vest pocket just like Andrew's and Ann's Digivices.

"Anybody else we haven't met here at DECA" mused Cody.

"You haven't met me yet." said a female voice. A rather slim girl with long black hair and brown highlights entered the control room right behind the Mantis squad. She wore the same uniform as Pricilla and Clarissa but had a vest rather than a jacket along with a white undershirt. An orange Digivice hung from a necklace that she wore.

"Hey Mayra." said Albert. "Meet the Falcon squad."

"I've heard about you guys. Nice work you've done so far" smiled Mayra warmly.

"Thanks" replied TJ returning the smile.

"Well… we have to head back to the lab and work on our next project so Albert, we'll leave this with you." said Javi handing Albert a small hand held device about the size of Albert's palm.

"The new PDA you wanted is all done. We even added a translator option for that new code you found. All you have to do is scan the text with the camera on the back and the PDA will translate it for you. It may take some time for the PDA to fully translate the text though. That code is really complex you know" explained Ann.

"Just ask if you need anything else" said Andrew. The Mantis squad said a quick goodbye and left the control room to work on their next project.

"Looks like you can translate that book even faster now" smiled Jackie.

"Yeah, I lent them the Digi-Code book and they uploaded the entire code onto this PDA for me. Now I should be able to figure out the journal in no time with the scanning feature" smiled Albert as he pocketed the device.

"That's good to hear. Oh yeah Albert, can I talk with you for a bit…" asked Mayra. She glanced over to the Falcon squad members then returned her stare to Albert "… in private?"

"Yeah sure, I'll talk to you guys later." said Albert getting out of his seat and following Mayra out of the room.

The Falcon squad was about to leave the room when the alert siren went off. Commander Aqua was the first commander to enter the control room followed by Commander Aria. Jackie input a few key strokes on the keyboard allowing a picture of the newly appeared Digimon to open on the screen. The Digimon was colored in a pick color and resembled a dinosaur with a giant grey shell on his back. The Digimon was covered with blue spots and had green tentacle like hair.

"Shellmon, champion level sea type Digimon whose main attack is called Aqua Blaster. Flacon squad, the reading indicates that the Digimon has appeared on the Beach Front I'll leave this Digimon's capture to you." said Commander Aria.

"Right" said Cody, TJ, and Jackie in unison. The trio gave a quick salute and then quickly made their way to the Digimon's location.

--

The wild Digimon was already causing havoc by the time the Falcon squad had reached the beach. The Digimon would lower its head releasing a powerful stream of water that would destroy anything in its path.

"This one should be fun, Agumon, let get to work" said Cody summoning Agumon from his Digivice.

"You to Hawkmon" added Jackie calling out her partner.

"Guilmon, let's go" continued TJ calling out his Digimon.

The three Digimon partners appeared in a bright flash of light. TJ, Cody, and Jackie preformed the usual hand movements before saying in unison "Digi-Charge!"

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

"Blast Rings!" cried Aquilamon striking Shellmon with her crimson colored rings. Shellmon discontinued his attack and focused on the three new Digimon that had appeared.

"Now that we have your attention, Pyro Blaster!" yelled Growlmon sending a bright red orb crashing into Shellmon and causing him to tumbled across the sand. Shellmon let out a roar then lowered his head and aimed for GeoGreymon. A stream of water shot forth heading rapidly for GeoGreymon.

"Mega Flare!" cried GeoGreymon creating a stream of fire. The two attacks collided with each other creating a huge explosion. Shellmon fell back onto the sand as his digital code began to form.

"I got this one, Digital Capture!" said Jackie quickly as she scanned the code. Shellmon's body began to glow as his data was reconfigured into a card form which then floated into Jackie's hand. Jackie pocketed the card the rejoined with the group while the Digimon partners reverted back to their rookie forms.

"That was easy" cheered Agumon.

"We're gonna need more of a challenge if we want to get stronger" said Guilmon with pride.

"Well let's take this Digimon back to HQ." said Jackie. The trio began to return to the jeep they had used to reach the beach until Jackie tripped onto the ground.

"Nice one" laughed TJ.

"I tripped over something" barked Jackie, looking to see what she had tripped over. Jackie noticed a small blue colored rock sticking out of the sand. She then began to dig up the stone until the object was fully excavated. The stone was no mere object but another Elemental Stone in a Sapphire color.

"Look why I found guys!" exclaimed Jackie presenting the newly found gem. The guys looked over the object in amazement.

"Looks like another one for our collection" said Hawkmon.

--

"Have you heard about the Lion's Squad's mission?" asked Mayra. Mayra and Albert were alone on the roof of DECA HQ, looking over the city as the sun began to set over the horizon.

"Yes, I am aware of their mission's objectives and their current status. Why do you ask?" replied Albert.

"I have this horrible feeling that something terrible is gonna happen soon. I was hoping that maybe you and I could…" started Mayra.

"We're needed here Mayra, us going to back the Lion squad up now will jeopardize the mission." stated Albert.

"I'm just worried about… us three were once a squad together before the others began to join DECA" started Mayra.

"I'm worried about him to but I have faith in him and his squad to complete the mission. It was just us three back then, back when everything was so simple" said Albert looking into the sky.

"Back in the day" smiled Mayra.


	18. Ch 18 Training

_**Ch. 18 Training**_

"We are proud to present the newest uniform design by DECA's best fashion designers, us. Louie, come on out" said Priscilla and Clarissa together.

Several members from the various squads were sitting in the cafeteria while Pricilla and Clarissa were making their announcement. Louie stepped in from the entryway wearing his new uniform as designed by both Clarissa and Pricilla. Louie's DECA uniform consisted of white sneakers, white colored cargo shorts, a white undershirt with a blue vest, and a pair of blue wrist bands. Louie's yellow Digivice was attached to a pocket on the vest.

"This is by far our best work" smiled Clarissa.

"Isn't it like our uniforms minus a few parts?" asked Ernie.

"Well…" started Pricilla.

"Yeah, like we have the same design but we have black pants, and a black shirt with a darker blue vest" added Michelle.

"If you had given him a jacket instead of a vest it would be like ours" put in Brandi.

"Or you could lose the vest and look like our squad or Lion Squad" said AJ.

"Shut it!" barked Priscilla while the other DECA members began to laugh.

"What makes Louie's uniform so special is the light weight design. His clothes aren't as heavy as ours are due to his tiny stature" said Clarissa.

"Hey, I'm not that tiny" said Louie suddenly.

"We'll help you fix that little buddy" spoke Eric.

"This is our best work so far. Besides, we design other stuff for you guys to keep you comfortable in different temperatures" said Pricilla.

"But you never let us give you that much input on what we want." said Memo

"I'm on your squad and you don't let me pick what our uniform design should be" added Mayra with a sigh.

"Fine, next time we upgrade the uniforms we'll let you guys have a say in what you want" said Clarissa a bit annoyed.

"Ok, how about we get leather jackets for our squad" laughed Fabian.

"Yeah, we could stand to lose the sleeves for when summer gets here, man do those months get hot" said JR.

"Quiet, you'll get what we design for you and like it!" yelled Pricilla, the other DECA members continued with a flurry of new uniform suggestions. Louie walked over to where Albert and his squad were sitting.

"When do I get all the gadgets you guys have?" asked Louie.

"Hopefully soon, I got the Mantis squad working on it but for now we got to start your training" said Albert getting out of his seat. Albert and the other members of his squad along with the Falcon squad members left the cafeteria then headed for the gym. Once there, they found an open spot to begin their work with Louie.

"First you need to call out your partner just like I showed you. You guys might want to do the same, let's go Gaomon" said Albert calling out his partner.

"Alright, Agumon, come on out" said Cody calling out Agumon.

"Let's go Guilmon" added TJ calling out his partner.

"Hawkmon, we need your help" chimed in Jackie calling Hawkmon out from her Digivice.

"Gabumon, come out" said Michelle.

"Renamon, let's show Louie how it's done" continued Diandra.

"Ok, hold down this button and… Patamon, let's play" finished Louie as his cute little partner appeared. All the Digimon partners appeared before the group while Albert took a place with Gaomon before Louie.

"First thing you need to learn is the Digital Charge or Digi-Charge for short. Usually, a partner and their Digimon are joined during battle so this skill is learned rather quickly on site. We have to do your training a bit differently since you were joined with Patamon in a quieter setting." spoke Albert.

"The Digi-Charge works by having a powerful emotion run through your body giving you an aura to use as a power source for the charge. Problem is finding the right emotion for the right person" explained Diandra.

"The emotions change from person to person, you just have to find the right one for you" added Michelle.

"So let's try…" began Albert until the usual alert siren began.

"Falcon Squad, report to the Command Room immediately" spoke Commander Aria through the intercom system.

"Looks like we better go" said Cody.

"Aww… I wanted to watch Louie do a Digi-Charge" groaned Agumon. The Falcon squad left the Gym quickly and headed to the Command Room for their next mission.

--

The Falcon squad members arrived at a nearby forest using one of the DECA jeeps. Their partners, having been called out already just rode with their humans until they reached the scene. A large red Digimon resembling a stag beetle appeared flying into the sky above The Digimon would fly into the air then use its massive pincers to chop down the various trees growing in the forest.

"That must be Kuwagamon" said Jackie.

"And that must be his Scissor Claw attack" added Hawkmon.

"Then let's take him down before he completely wipes out this forest" said Guilmon getting ready for battle.

"Right behind you buddy. Digi-Charge" said TJ performing the usual movements, Cody and Jackie doing the same.

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

"Blast Rings" said Aquilamon blasting Kuwagamon out of the sky with her crimson rings. Kuwagamon crashed into the trees below only to return into the air in only a few seconds.

"Tough guys isn't he, try frying the Digimon GeoGreymon" said Cody.

"Right, Mega Flare!" yelled GeoGreymon using his stream of fire to ignite the Digimon in flames. Kuwagamon let out a loud cry before charging straight for the team.

"You won't get to far, Pyro Blaster" said Guilmon using his giant orb attack to blow Kuwagamon out of the air and crashing into the ground. Kuwagamon's Digital Code began to form around his body.

"Now to end this, Digital Capture" said TJ using his Digivice to scan Kuwagamon's Digital Code. Kuwagamon was soon converted into a card like form that slowly floated into TJ's hand.

"And that ends that" said Cody with a smile.

"Wonder what made the Digimon want to destroy the forest?" asked Jackie.

"Maybe that" said TJ pointing to an object glistening in the sunlight within the forest. Cody ran over to the shiny object and picked it up. The object was another Elemental Stone but now in a beautiful Emerald color.

"Man these things are popping up everywhere now" said Cody examining the gem.

"Let's take it back to HQ and add it with the others." said GeoGreymon. The team's Digimon soon reverted back to their rookie forms then entered their respective Digivices. Falcon Squad then began their trip back to HQ with both the Digimon and newly discovered Elemental stone with them.

--

"That's it Louie, you almost got it" said Albert encouraging Louie. A bright yellow aura surrounded Louie but would soon fade out, then return with the same intensity and, so forth.

"I'm… trying…" struggled Louie.

"Just keep that energy flowing through you. Just focus on everything that makes you happy and let that warmth grow" added Michelle.

"Digi-Charge!" yelled Louie slamming his hand onto the top of his Digivice. His aura filled the Digivice as Patamon's body began to glow in a white light.

_Patamon Digivolved to… Ang…_

Before the transformation could be completed, Louie was knocked onto the ground by a blast from his Digivice along with Patamon. Louie's aura soon faded out completely leaving the young child breathing heavily on the ground with his partner.

"You almost had it that time" said Diandra.

"You just put a little too much power into that charge" said Gaomon.

"Remember to control the amount of force you use or else the Digivice will reject the Digi-Charge" explained Renamon.

"Other than that nice try" finished Gabumon with a smile.

"Let's get you fixed up and we'll continue this tomorrow" smiled Albert picking Louie up off the ground.

"Ok… can we get ice cream?" asked Louie.

"Yay ice cream" cheered Patamon taking a place on Louie's head.

"Sure, you deserve it after today." smiled Albert carrying Louie on his back. The team left the Gym and began heading for the Cafeteria for some much needed food.

"At least he has gotten the hang of the Digi-Charge. Now comes the hard part of controlling it" thought Albert to himself.


	19. Ch 19 Shadow Cards

_**Ch. 19 Shadow Cards**_

"Stupid alarm clock," grumbled Cody to himself as he sprinted down the streets of Cyber City. The weather in the city was much cooler than usual now that fall had fully begun. Many of the leaves on the trees that filled the city had already changed colors or had begun to fall off the tree's branches.

"Hurry up Cody, you're gonna be late!" yelled Agumon from within Cody's Digivice.

"I know that Agumon!" barked Cody as he continued to make his way to DECA HQ. "Man, Commander Aria is gonna be so mad at me"

"We'll get the lead out and move it already" shouted Agumon.

"You're not helping" growled Cody. Before Cody could realize where he was running, he ran directly into another person, knocking them over and causing them to drop the large parcels they were carrying. Cody quickly began to help the other person off the ground. "I'm so sorry. In a bit of a hurry"

"It's alright… oh, hey Cody" said the fallen person beginning to collect the boxes that now lay scattered across the floor. Cody soon realized that the person he knocked over was Memo.

"What's going on? I heard the crash… oh, hi Cody" said Javi coming out from a nearby building.

Cody helped Memo pick up the remaining boxes "So what are you guys doing here?"

"The Commanders saw the PDA my squad made for Albert the other day and requested that we make one for every DECA agent. My squad needed more supplies so I decided to come to the city to pick up a few things" explained Javi.

"I was getting bored back at headquarters so I just tagged along to help Javi out" added Memo "Shouldn't you be working at HQ right now?"

"Kinda woke up late so that's where I was running to, looks like I can't avoid being late now" sighed Cody.

"Don't worry about it, nothing a quick call can't fix" said Javi reaching into his pocket and pulling out his head set "I'll just tell Commander Aria that you're helping us out. that should bail you out of trouble"

--

"_I've worked long and hard to reach this point. All those fools laughed and criticized me but soon it will be they who suffer. Time to give my latest toy a test run and this little card will help me"_

_--_

"Commander Aria says it's alright for you to help us bring this stuff back to headquarters. You don't have to worry about her chewing you out today" smiled Javi slipping his headset back into his pocket.

"Thanks man, I owe you one" sighed Cody in relief.

"Come on guys, let's get moving" said Memo taking a few of the boxes. Cody picked up the remaining boxes and continued to walk with Javi and Memo back to DECA HQ. The trio made their way through the busy city rather quickly. The group began to walk right passed a jewelry store when Memo noticed an all too familiar shaped jewel sitting in the display window. The gem was colored a dark onyx and glistened from the display lights.

"Hey guys, is that an…" began Memo.

"Elemental Stone" finished Javi in disbelief.

"We'll then go in and get it" said Agumon suddenly from his Digivice.

"What do you want us to do? Go in and say 'Hi, we're an elite group of teenagers that have digital monster partners whose sole reason of being is to protect this city from being destroyed by other digital creatures. Can you please give us that gem so we can continue our quest as heroes and protectors of this city'" laughed Javi.

"Something like that" giggled a voice, coming from Javi's Digivice.

Before the trio could suggest anything else, a loud shattering sound could be heard followed by a load howl. The group turned to see a scrawny, wolf like creature with red fur, yellow eyes, and many sharp teeth looking around atop the shattered remains of the glass window. The creature's appearance caused many of the nearby humans to run and scream in terror.

"Let's see what type of Digimon you are" said Javi pulling out his Data Visors and scanning the Digimon "Fangmon, a champion level beast type Digimon. It can harness the powers of darkness to fire an attack called Blast Coffin"

"Guys, that Digimon has the Elemental Stone" said Memo pointing to the black gem inside Fangmon's razor sharp fangs. The Digimon began to sprint down the street at full speed.

"Let's catch us a Digimon fellas" grinned Cody taking off after the Digimon. Javi and Memo followed close behind, still carrying all their purchased supplies. The trio pursued the Digimon all the way to Cyber City's central park. Fangmon stopped its running and turned toward the DECA agents. Fangmon opened its massive jaws dropping the gem onto the grass and launching several orbs of dark energy toward the team. Cody and the other's dodged the attack then pulled out their Digivices causing them to drop the boxes they were carrying.

"Let's go Agumon" said Cody calling out his partner.

"Right" cried Agumon appearing in a bright flash of light and taking a battle stance.

"We have work to do Terriermon" continued Javi calling out his partner. A small, rabbit like Digimon appeared in a flash of white light. The Digimon had white colored fur with spots of green on its long, floppy ears.

"Ready when you are Javi" smiled the Digimon.

"You know what to do Labramon" said Memo summoning his partner. A Digimon appeared before the group resembling a dog of sorts. The Digimon had white, shaggy fur on its body with magenta colored fur on its ears. The Digimon appeared to be very friendly and playful.

"Oh boy, oh boy" said the Digimon hoping up and down.

"Let's see how this Digimon likes my attack, Terrier Tornado" cried Terriermon beginning to spin rapidly and forming a cyclone. The cyclone lifted up into the air and rammed right into Fangmon, sending the Digimon tumbling across the ground.

"Retrieve Bark" shouted Labramon opening his mouth and sent several sound waves toward Fangmon. Fangmon let out a howl in pain then shot several more dark orbs toward the group.

"Looks like we need to take this up a level" said Cody as his Digital Aura began to form around his body. Javi's and Memo's auras began to form while they gripped their Digivices.

"Digi-Charge!" cried the three in unison.

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Terriermon Digivolved to… Gargomon_

_Labramon Digivolved to… Seasarmon_

Gargomon resembled a more rotund rabbit and had the same fur colors as Terriermon but now the green colored fur mad a mask around his eyes. Gargomon now wore a pair of blue jeans, a brown strap around his chest, and bore twin machineguns on his hands. Seasarmon appeared to be the hybrid cross of a dog and lion with white fur. The Digimon had a long horn, large mane, and bushy tail all colored gold.

"Let's see you stop this, Tiida Lya" shouted Seasarmon taking aim with his golden horn. The horn began to glow white then shot off an arrow that struck Fangmon directly. Fangmon retaliated with several more Dark Coffin shots.

"Let me get a shot, Gargo Laser" yelled Gargomon leaping into the air and taking aim with his gattling guns. A flurry of small yellow orbs began to rain onto Fangmon, trapping the Digimon and stopping the dark energy balls.

"Let me end this, Mega Flame" called out GeoGreymon burning Fangmon with his searing hot flames. Fangmon's Digital Code began to form its body as he stood stunned from the attacks.

"Digital Capture" said Cody scanning the Digimon. Fangmon was soon captured into its card form. Cody grabbed the card and noticed something odd. The card's edges and back were colored black instead of the usual blue color. "This is new"

"What's up?" asked Javi looking over to Cody. Cody held up the card for Javi to see.

"That's a Shadow Card; those cards only appear when a Digimon that has been infected with a virus has been captured. It's really rare to see one of those cards though" said Memo examining the black card.

"Well, let's take it back to HQ along with this and get them checked out" said Javi grabbing the onyx colored jewel.

"Yeah, we'd better get all this stuff back too" added Memo looking over the boxes scattered on the grass. The trio called back their partners, collected the scattered supplies, and began to head back to DECA Headquarters with their two new finds in tow.

--

"_Blasted children, they've spoiled my experiment. At least the information I collected should be useful. I guess I should go check on my other little experiment for now. Don't want them to get lonely"_


	20. Ch 20 Rush

_**Ch. 20 Rush**_

The morning sun was beginning to show a sliver of golden sun light beaming from the distant horizon. Diandra stood alone, gazing into the golden light from atop DECA's roof. The morning air was freezing due to the season change. She would shiver whenever the bitter cold fall breeze blew past her.

"You'll get sick if you don't put on something warm" said a voice. Diandra turned to see Albert wearing a light jacket standing behind her holding another jacket in his hands. The jacket was colored black with a thick blue stripe going along the chest and bore the wolf emblem in gold on the back.

"It's not cold" retorted Diandra with a smile.

"If you have a fur coat that is" remarked Renamon from her Digivice

"Yeah right, here wear this" said Albert handing Diandra the jacket. Diandra put the jacket on then returned to watching the sunrise. Albert took a spot next to her gazing into the morning light.

"So what brings you up here?" asked Albert.

"Just wanted to watch the sunrise… hey Albert… can I ask you something?" questioned Diandra.

"Shoot" replied Albert.

"Lion Squad, it's been a little over two weeks and Ramiro said that they'd be back by now. What's going on? Are they alright? Where are they?" asked Diandra.

"I wish I could tell you but I don't know all the answers myself. I wouldn't worry about anything though. For all we know, Lion Squad is heading home right now" smiled Albert. The smile was enough to cause Diandra to grin a little.

"Yeah, I guess you could be right" said Diandra.

"Come on, let's go inside. It's freezing out here" said Albert shivering then beginning to head indoors. Diandra began to follow, taking another glance at the sunrise before she exited the roof top. The pair made their way through the halls of DECA then stopped when they heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching them from behind.

"Heads up guys!" yelled Ernie, darting past the pair.

"Hey! Watch it Ernie!" barked Diandra.

"Sorry but I'm in a hurry, meeting the guys at the park for the usual cardio work out" said Ernie stopping to catch his breath and approaching the duo.

"Where'd you get that?" asked Albert pointing to a white water bottle in Ernie's hand.

"Vitamin water" answered Ernie holding up the bottle "Me and Agumon always drink the stuff to get ourselves pumped. I usually bring some from home but I forgot to buy some more vitamin water yesterday. Luckily, I found this in my locker already filled. Guess somebody is looking out for me huh?"

"Right… you sure you two should be drinking that. You don't even know where it came from" said Diandra.

"Tasted fine to us" laughed Agumon from his Digivice.

"Hey, one of my bros was probably just doing us a favor" said Ernie. He quickly finished the rest of the vitamin water. He then threw the bottle to Albert and took off running down the hallway. "Take care of that for me."

"He could have asked nicely you know" spoke Gaomon.

"Boys…" groaned Diandra. She then looked over to Albert to see him examining the remaining liquid in the container then beginning to sniff it "Something wrong?"

"Not sure. I'm gonna go check something out at the lab. I'll catch up with you later" spoke Albert before taking off down another one of DECA's hallways. Diandra just shrugged and made her way down the opposite hallway.

--

"Come on guys, let's go run another five miles" said Ernie jogging in place.

"Whoa, calm down there man" panted Eric.

"We just finished running five miles straight. Think we should take a break and rest" added JR catching his breath.

"Come on, I can do this all day. Who want to practice a little one on one fighting?" spoke Ernie throwing a few jabs.

"Dude, where'd you get all this energy from?" asked TJ.

"Yeah, you're not this energetic in the mornings" said Cody. Before anybody could say anything else, all their Digivices began to flash a red light from their screens.

"Looks like we got a wild one" spoke Monodramon.

"Where at though?" questioned TJ pulling out his Data Visors. TJ scanned the area until he located the newly appeared Digimon. "The wild Digimon has appeared close by here. Think it should be right at the southern edge of the park… right where they're doing all that new construction"

"Time to get to work fellas" grinned Ernie sprinting toward the direction TJ pointed to.

"What's gotten into him?" asked Eric.

"Beats me" shrugged JR taking off after Ernie. The group made their way to the parks southern edge. This area of the park seemed to be undergoing a few landscape changes and was covered with hills of dirt and mud. Amongst the piles of soil was a tall, bear like Digimon colored an earthly brown with black eyes.

"Chuchidarumon, an earth type Digimon at the champion level. Its Heavy Punch attack has the same attack force as its own body weight" said TJ scanning the Digimon with his Data Visors.

"Agumon, let's do this" shouted Ernie summoning his partner to the field. Agumon appeared in a burst of white light looking to have the same energy levels as Ernie.

"Wahoo! Let's go go go" exclaimed Agumon hoping up and down.

"What's up with them? It's like they're hooked on something" said Cody as he pulled out his Digivice. "Agumon, you're up"

"Monodramon, let's go" added JR.

"Play time Veemon" spoke Eric.

"You know what to do Guilmon" called out TJ. All four digital partners appeared alongside Agumon looking ready for a battle.

"Now then, Digi-Charge" said the five in unison.

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Veemon Digivolved to… Veedramon_

_Monodramon Digivolved to… Strikedramon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

_Agumon Digivolved to… Greymon_

"Let me start things off, Strike Fang!" yelled Strikedramon dashing straight toward Chuchidarumon, covered with blue flames. Strikedramon let out a flurry of punches and kicks knocking the Digimon to the ground.

"V-Nova Blast" began Veedramon crossing his arms over the _v_ mark on his chest.

"Pyro Blaster" started Growlmon creating a large, glowing red orb in his mouth.

"Mega Flame" cried GeoGreymon starting to make his searing hot flames.

Chuchidarumon quickly climbed to its feet then held out its fist. The Digimon then rammed its clenched hand into the ground, causing a sudden earthquake. The moving ground caused the groups Digimon to stumble and lose balance, sending their attacks flying into the sky. Ernie looked over the stumbling Digimon and then glared at their human partners.

"Your pathetic partners are ruining everything" barked Ernie.

"Ok… now he's suddenly moody" said Eric confused.

"Dude, what's wrong with you?" shouted JR returning the cold stare back at Ernie.

"Nothing's wrong with me. It's you weaklings and your rookie partners that are holding me and Greymon back. Greymon, fry that Digimon" said Ernie coldly.

"Right, Nova Blast!" shouted Greymon sending a large ball of fire hurling toward Chuchidarumon. Once the first attack struck Chuchidarumon, Greymon launched another, then another. The attacks struck Chuchidarumon directly, causing the Digimon to collapse onto the ground covered in flames. Chuchidarumon's Digital Code then began to appear around its body as it lay on the ground, defeated.

"I didn't say to stop, burn that Digimon. Delete it from existence entirely!" exclaimed Ernie.

"Chill out Ernie!" yelled TJ.

"Yeah, we beat the Digimon, no need to attacking the poor thing anymore" spoke out Eric.

"All we have left to do is capture it and take it back to headquarters" added Cody preparing his Digivice to scan the fallen Digimon.

"No, this Digimon is weak and needs to be deleted. If any of you get in my way, you'll be next" glared Ernie, his eyes turning blood red.

"Ok, this is getting weird." said TJ.

"Ernie, listen to yourself. What the hell is wrong with you?" yelled JR.

"Nothing's wrong, I just want more power and destroying worthless Digimon like that one is how me and Greymon are gonna get it. Burn Chuchidarumon now Greymon" commanded Ernie.

"Yes master…" spoke Greymon, sounding as if he was brainwashed. Greymon's eyes began to glow in an eerie red color.

"Don't make us do something we'll regret later" said Strikedramon taking a battle stance.

"We don't want to hurt you but we will if you try anything funny" continued GeoGreymon.

"Destroy them, destroy them all!" yelled Ernie. The others stood frozen, not really knowing what to do or who to stop.

"Blast Rings" cried Aquilamon suddenly appearing overhead and showering the area with her crimson rings. The sudden attack confused Greymon and Ernie for a brief moment. Aquilamon landed on the ground to allow Jackie and Diandra to climb off her back then took off into the air again.

"Digital Capture!" said Jackie scanning Chuchidarumon's Digital Code and trapping the Digimon into a card.

"Sorry about this Greymon, Flame Drive!" cried Firamon sticking Greymon from above with his flames. The sudden storm of attacks caused Greymon to revert back to his Agumon form, his eyes still glowing red.

"Time to take your medicine" said Renamon jumping out from a nearby tree along with Labramon and Gaomon. The Digimon trio dog plied onto Agumon and held him down. While Diandra darted toward Agumon holding a syringe in her hands. She then quickly injected Agumon with the serum in the syringe causing Agumon to calm down and fall asleep.

"All on you guys now" yelled Diandra turning toward the group.

"Get him!" yelled Memo as he and Gerald tackled Ernie to the ground. The two struggled to hold Ernie down all while Albert prepped a second syringe. To the duos surprise, Ernie's strength was reaching almost super human levels.

"Mind giving us a hand here guys" struggled Gerald trying to hold Ernie still. JR, Eric, TJ, and Cody all rushed toward Ernie and held him steady on the ground. Ernie thrashed back and forth trying to break off his restrainers.

"I'm so sorry about this Ernie but it's the only way." said Albert stabbing the needle into Ernie's arm then administering the serum. After the serum had been injected, Ernie began to stop his thrashing then fall asleep, breathing heavily and showing signs of a growing fever.

"Albert, what's going on!?" asked Cody.

"I'll explain later, we need to get Ernie and Agumon to an emergency room stat or else they'll die!"


	21. Ch 21 Conspiracy Theory

_**Ch. 21 Conspiracy Theory**_

Eric and JR were waiting impatiently in the hallway outside the emergency room for any news on their partner's condition. Waiting with them were Cody, TJ, Jackie, Memo, Diandra, and Gerald. They all waited and waited for hours hoping for any form of reports to come. The group turned suddenly when they heard the doors to the emergency room open. Albert, Alissa, and Michelle all walked out of the emergency room together looking exhausted.

"So?" asked JR with a look of concern.

"Is he going to be alright?" added Eric.

Albert lets out a small sigh then smiled "He's going to be just fine. Ernie isn't going to jump into any big missions any time soon but he's going to be ok"

"That's good news" said Cody sounding relieved.

"Good thing you guys stopped him when you did. If we had waited any longer…" began Michelle.

"Don't even talk like that Michelle" spoke Jackie.

"What happened to him exactly?" questioned Gerald.

"Yeah, the way Ernie was acting was inhuman" continued TJ.

"Well, to put it simply…. uh… Albert you want to take that one? You can probably explain it a lot better than me" said Alissa.

"I'll give it a try considering the circumstances. Something got into both Ernie and Agumon, taking full control of them. To remove it from their systems, Dr. Antonio and Dr. Veronica had to filter out whatever substance that entered Ernie's and Agumon's bodies so that they could return back to a normal state Whatever it was gave them an incredible amount of strength and power but took a serious toll on their bodies, physically and mentally." explained Albert.

"You mean, whatever that stuff was acted like a steroid?" asked Diandra.

"Sort of, but some of the other effects like the red eye color were just… unnatural" answered Albert.

"That's right; me and Gerald had a hard time holding Ernie down. You'd think two people would be strong enough to hold one person down" said Memo.

"How did you know about that stuff being inside Ernie's and Agumon's systems?" asked Cody.

"When Ernie said that someone had just left that bottle of vitamin water in his locker I started to suspect something was up. I figured it would be a good idea to take it to the lab and check it out to see if there was anything wrong with it. Sure enough, I found that substance mixed in with the vitamin water. Good thing I found all you guys in time to help me out there"

"So, who put the bottle there in the first place?" questioned Jackie.

"Yeah and who would want to target Ernie and Agumon?" added Memo.

"Look, we can figure all that out later. Can we at least check on Ernie and Agumon?" asked JR.

"Of course, Dr. Antonio and Dr. Veronica are moving Ernie to a recovery room right now. I'll take you guys to see him." smiled Michelle leading the group through another hallway, Albert and Alissa stayed behind.

"You did it. I don't know how but you did it" said Alissa shaking her head. "I still can't believe you figured out the missing medicines from the pharmacy were the same in that vitamin water Ernie and Agumon drank"

"Glad I did but there are a few things that are still bothering me." said Albert in thought.

"Those would be?" asked Alissa.

"Who laced Ernie's vitamin water with those drugs? Somebody broke into the Pharmacy and stole the drugs but why would they just put them in someone's drink? A lot of stuff just doesn't add up." spoke Albert, thinking.

"You'll figure it out. I better go check on the others and make sure they're not bothering Ernie and Agumon too much" smiled Alissa. She said goodbye to Albert then headed for Ernie's room.

"Sounds like you got a theory going through you head" spoke a voice behind Albert. Albert turned to see Mayra walking down the hallway holding a black colored binder. "You've been thinking to huh?"

"The medicines from Pharmacy aren't the only things to go missing right?" asked Albert.

"You got that right. There have been several items reported missing from around DECA HQ. To start off with, several tools and various machine parts have been stolen from the labs. Along with that, several files from the archives have been reported missing. The missing files covered the Digital Gateway project from several years back but a few files on nanotechnology have also been reported missing." informed Mayra flipping through her binder.

"Add all that with the appearance of the Elemental Stones, Lion Squad's secret mission, the little rat problem and you get…" started Albert.

"One big conspiracy" finished Mayra closing her binder "Got any leads so far?"

"I think I do but I'm gonna need help." replied Albert.

"Me and my squad will help you out and I'm sure the other squads will want to join in." said Mayra.

"Thanks, all we need to do is get the right amount of evidence and we can catch that rat." grinned Albert.

"You got a plan already don't you?" smiled Mayra.

"Maybe but now's not the time. Everybody's been through enough already so let's give it some time before we act." said Albert. Albert and Mayra then proceeded to Ernie's room to check his progress along with the others.

--

"_Those two will prove to be quiet the nuisance if I let them but no matter. Let's see them play my game. They're almost out of time anyways to piece together my little puzzle."_

--

Albert and Mayra made their way to Ernie's recovery room to find everybody crowded inside along with Dr. Veronica checking Ernie's current vital signs. Ernie slept silently in the hospital bed with his Digivice at his side. Agumon was resting inside the Digivice until both he and his partner felt strong enough to awaken.

"Ok guys he's stable but you all are gonna have to let Ernie rest for the night. We'll keep you posted if anything new happens" informed Dr. Veronica leaving the room.

"Alright Dr. Veronica, we'll be out of here in a little bit and thanks for saving our partner" said Eric.

"It was nothing really kids. Remember five minutes and then you all have to go and let Ernie rest for the night along with Agumon" spoke Dr. Veronica with a smile then left the room. The room remained silent for a bit.

"There's more to this than what we can see isn't there Albert?" asked Cody breaking the silence.

"I hate to say it but yes, DECA has had a rat problem for several weeks now. Started off with just a few missing files and equipment but now it's growing out of control" frowned Albert.

"Then we all want in" said TJ.

"What?"said Mayra in surprise.

"We know you two have an idea what's going on and we know you're thinking of a plan to catch that rat. All of us want to help" spoke Cody.

"If somebody messes with one DECA agent, they mess with all the DECA agents" said JR clenching his fists together.

"All we need is a plan" continued Eric.

"Then we're gonna need a good one. I already have my suspicions as do the Commanders but we can't just act on a hunch. We're gonna need proof to fully corner our little rat. First off, let me fill you guys in on what's going on so far…" began Albert. The group listened carefully to Albert's words as he explained the current situation. They were gonna need a master plan to catch their rat.


	22. Ch 22 Twins

_**Ch. 22 Twins**_

"So you don't remember anything at all Ernie?" asked Mayra. Mayra and Albert were currently with Ernie in his recovery room trying to find any useful information that could help them solve the strange occurrences around DECA HQ.

Ernie just shook his head "Sorry guys but no. Most I can remember is running into Albert and Diandra in the hall before taking off to workout with the guys. I can kinda remember running through the park but after that, everything just gets blurry"

"I can't even remember Digivolving and attack the others" added Agumon from Ernie's Digivice.

"Oh well, at least both of your recoveries are going smoothly. Most people would have a hard time recovering after an incident like that" smiled Albert.

"I wish we could help you guys out more but that's all I got" frowned Ernie.

"Don't worry about it, we'll figure this out." said Mayra. "You two just worry about getting yourself back to full strength."

"That much we can do, I want payback for whoever did this to me and Agumon" growled Ernie.

--

"Security cameras show anything Javi?" asked Cody. Cody and his squad along with the members of Mantis Squad were in the control room overseeing the footage collected from the past couple of days.

"Nope, nothing. It's like a ghost came in and gave Ernie that drugged up drink." sighed Javi.

"Great… DECA HQ is haunted" laughed TJ.

"Think somebody could have come in and altered the security footage?" asked Jackie.

"It's possible" replied Andrew.

"If somebody has been messing around DECA then they've been busy covering their tracks. Altering that much footage would take weeks" pointed out Ann.

"You guys are bound to find something if you keep at it" encouraged Hawkmon.

"Yeah nobody is perfect. There has to be one mistake the perpetrator made" added Terriermon.

"Did we just hear the word perfect?" asked an eerie voice.

"Funny how you knew we were coming today" added a second voice.

The group turned their attention toward the entranceway into the control room and found two teenagers about their age standing by the door. The first figure was a rather large male, tall, with sharply combed brown hair and grey colored eyes along with a pair of glasses. The second was a slender female with long brown hair and the same grey colored eyes. The two looked almost alike with gender being one of the few differences between them.

"And you two are…" began Cody.

"My how rude. Why do you not bow when addressing a lady?" scolded the female figure.

"You must forgive them sister, they are new after all. They have not learned how to properly address their superiors." spoke the male.

"And what makes you our superiors?" glared TJ.

"Our heritage, we were brought up as royalty while you were brought up as… dare I say… peasants," said the female.

"Oh no, she did not just call me a peasant" growled Jackie.

"Hey guys, what's up? Oh…" started Diandra entering the control room and seeing the scene unfold before here. "I see you guys already met Edward and Emily"

"That isn't the proper way to introduce us" scoffed Emily.

"Fine, if not to move on…" sighed Diandra "This is Lady Emily Kroger and Sir Edward Kroger. They're Professor Kroger's grandchildren."

"Still not proper but it will suffice for now. Where might we find our dear grandfather?" asked Edward.

"He should be in his lab. It's still in the same place from when you two visited last so you won't need somebody to show you where it is" said Diandra, sounding annoyed.

"Thank you Diandra, come sister, grandfather awaits" bowed Edward exiting the room.

"Coming brother, say hello to Ramiro for me dear Diandra" said Emily following behind her brother.

"I'll be… sure to tell him…" spoke Diandra forcing a smile. Albert began entering the room while Edward and Emily exited. Albert let out a sigh after seeing Diandra trying to hold back her rage.

"Don't let her get to you Diandra"

"Who does that little witch think she is!?"

"What's the deal with those two anyways?" asked Cody.

"The twins Emily and Edward Kroger come from a very wealthy family and are royalty to an extent. Their family name is what makes them think they are 'superior' to everybody else. Just do yourselves a favor and let whatever they told you go. Trust me, fighting with them won't get you very far." answered Albert. At that moment the alarm system went off signaling the appearance of a Digimon.

"Best thing I've heard all day. What we got?" asked TJ turning to the main screen.

"Let's see here…" began Ann typing away on the computer screen. The screen displayed the image of a lizard shaped creature colored green with red stripes. The upper part of the lizard like Digimon looked heavily plated with what looked like goggles attached to the Digimon's forehead. "Chameleonmon, reptile Digimon at the champion level. They can use their tongues to perform their Tongue Lashing attack. It looks like the Digimon has appeared near the rock quarry."

"We can take care of it, let the commanders know we're on this one guys" said Cody leaving the room along with his teammates.

--

"Where's that Digimon?" asked TJ surveying the area. Falcon squad arrived at the rock quarry to find the area strangely quiet. The piles of stones and rubble were all that seemed to occupy the vicinity.

"See if you can find anything strange Agumon" said Cody calling out his partner.

"You can get a better look from above Hawkmon" added Jackie calling out her feathered partner.

"Give them a hand Guilmon" spoke TJ summoning his digital partner. All three of the teams Digimon appeared in a bright flash of white light. The three of them looked around the area to see if they could catch anything out of the ordinary.

"Everything seems to be fine here" said Hawkmon flying around above the team.

"You sure the others didn't get the wrong location?" questioned Guilmon.

"Nope the computer said Chameleonmon appeared here" replied TJ.

"It has to be here somewhere…" started Agumon when something caught his attention. Agumon turned to a pile of rocks then let out one of his fire ball attack. The attack collided with the rock pile revealing the newly appeared Digimon.

"Chameleonmon…. should have guessed it could blend into its surroundings" spoke Cody. Chameleonmon swung out its long tongue hitting a nearby pile of rubble and smashing it.

"Think it's time for a power boost TJ" called out Guilmon.

"On it buddy" said TJ summoning his Digital Aura along with Jackie and Cody.

"Digi-Charge" cried the trio in unison.

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

"Mega Flame" yelled GeoGreymon sending a stream of flames toward Chameleonmon. The flames barely missed the rouge Digimon giving Chameleonmon time to use his camouflage ability to hide from his attackers.

"Great, now where did he go?" asked Jackie surveying the scene.

"I got an idea" said Aquilamon beginning to flap her wings swiftly. A cloud of dust began to spread around the area slowly revealing the faint outline of Chameleonmon. "There you are, Growlmon, to your left!"

"Right Pyro Blaster" cried Growlmon launching his massive red orb. The attack hit Chameleonmon dead on causing its Digital Code to appear.

"Let's wrap things up here, Digital Capture!" called out TJ scanning the Digimon's code and transferring the data into card form.

"That takes care of that" said Cody. The team rejoined with their partners as the reverted back to their rookie forms.

"Ready to go back?" asked Jackie.

"Not if the twins are there" sighed TJ.

"Guess we're gonna have to put up with them… hey what's that shining over there?" asked Cody running over to a nearby pile of rocks. He began to push off a few rocks from the pile then reached in to pull out the object that caught his attention. It wasn't long until Cody was now holding another Elemental Stone piece in a bright, amber color in his palms.

"Seems like those things are popping up everywhere" commented Agumon.

"Let's take it back to HQ and add it to the collection. I think this makes six now" thought out TJ. With that the team began to head on back to their home base with both an Elemental Stone and newly captured Digimon in their grasp.

--

"_So, they have found another stone. Those children are just making it too easy for me to carry out my plan. Things should be able to run even faster with my two new assistants now here. Everything has almost fallen in to place…"_


	23. Ch 23 The Approaching Storm

_**Ch. 23 The Approaching Storm**_

Dark grey skies and the faint sound of thunder made up this day. The four DECA commanders gathered together in one of DECA Headquarters conference rooms early this morning. The room had nothing but a long table in the middle of the room, a pull down screen at one end and several windows along the left side of the room. Commander Aria looked out one of the windows and gave a heavy sigh before joining her fellow commanders around the table.

"Are you sure Titan, are you positively sure?" asked Commander Aqua in disbelief.

"I am sure of it, as of today Lion Squad is…" started Commander Titan.

"Don't say it, we're not one hundred percent sure. They could still be…" interjected Commander Pyro sounding serious for once.

"The signs are all there. We have to assume that they are no longer with us." stated Titan solemnly.

"This will just tear up their families not to mention the other agents. Do any of them know yet?" questioned Aria.

"I have called in their families and I have asked Mayra to come in along with Albert. The two of them are the oldest members of DECA and I believe they could easy the others pain. They should all be in soon." responded Titan.

"I just can't believe it" sighed Pyro.

"I know, it's like the heavens know our sorrow to" added Aqua gazing into the grey skies through the nearby window.

"You guys are here early" yawned Albert entering the Control Room to find the members of Falcon, Bear, and remaining members of Wolf Squad talking with each other.

"Ernie is getting out of the hospital today so we're gonna start working out with him." said JR.

"We'll help him get back to his normal self in no time" added Eric.

"Thought it would be nice if we came to help to" spoke TJ.

"Yeah and with my skills as a nurse, I can help if anything goes wrong" smiled Jackie.

"We just wanted to get here before the storm hits" said Michelle sounding half asleep.

"And help the others if they need it" spoke out Gabumon from hit Digivice.

"That's nice, speaking of Ernie; I'm supposed to finish his release forms today. Better get down to the Medical Ward and finish those up" said Albert with a yawn.

"Hurry up and get down there then" laughed Cody.

"Yeah, I miss sparing with another Agumon" barked Agumon from his Digivice.

"Ok, ok, I'll head down there already." laughed Albert heading for the door. Before Albert could get very far, the alarm system went off alerting the building of a Digimon's appearance in town.

"Perfect timing" sighed Veemon sarcastically.

"Let's see here…" began Jackie typing away on a nearby keyboard and pulling up the image of the Digimon onto one of the screens in the Control Room. The Digimon had a tiny body colored a dark purple with smaller arms and legs hanging from its sides and bore a thunderbolt symbol on its forehead. "Thundermon, a champion level Digimon that can move at lightning fast speeds. They've got an attack called Thunder Bomber where they try to blow apart their enemies with strong volts of electricity. Looks like the Digimon has appeared at the power plant"

"You all will have to take care of this Digimon fast." spoke Commander Aria entering the control room. "If it absorbs the electrical energy from the power plant or from the incoming storm, it'll be too strong to contain."

"We can get this one" said Diandra.

"Shouldn't be too hard for Wolf Squad to handle." assured Renamon from her Digivice.

"You'll need a replacement this time, Albert, you need to come with me" said Commander Aria.

"Ok…" responded Albert sounding confused. He then turned his attention over to Falcon Squad "I hate to ask but can you handle this one for me Cody?"

"Sure, me and Agumon will fill in for you" responded Cody.

"You'll owe us lunch though" laughed Agumon.

"Alright, lunch will be on me today" smiled Albert.

"Let's head out then and catch this Digimon" said Michelle. The trio made their way out of the control room while Albert followed Commander Aria to the upper levels of DECA HQ.

"Ok, let's bag this one before the rain comes" said Michelle.

"Yeah, wet fur isn't the best fur" added Gabumon walking alongside his partner. The group walked around the city's power plant looking for the stray Digimon. The plant contained nothing but a web of power lines above and smaller buildings scattered around the area. Thunder could be heard rumbling from a distance.

"Wonder where that little Digimon is hiding" spoke Diandra. As if on cue, the loose Digimon burst out from a nearby shed and dashed around the power lines before the team.

"Answer your question?" asked Renamon.

"Let's get to work guys" said Cody readying his Digivice and forming his Digital Aura with Michelle and Diandra.

"Digi-Charge!" cried the trio in unison.

_Gabumon Digivolved to… Garurumon_

_Renamon Digivolved to… Kyubimon_

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

"Thunder Bomber" buzzed Thundermon throwing several bolts of electricity toward the team.

"Foxtail Inferno" chanted Kyubimon intercepting the attack with her storm of blue flames.

"Howling Blaster!" cried Garurumon launching his attack toward Thundermon. Thundermon avoided the attack using his quick speed and laughed at Garurumon's attempts to blast the Digimon out of the sky. The Digimon then flew over to a set of power lines and began to drain the energy from them.

"This guys is gonna give us problems if he absorbs too much energy" observed Diandra.

"Maybe we can divert his attention somewhere then attack?" suggested Michelle.

"Think I got a plan" smiled Cody noticing some stray electrical wires on the ground. He quickly took one end of the wiring and shoved it into the ground then held the other end up in the air for Thundermon to see "Hey Thundermon, looking for some desert?"

"Energy!" smiled Thundermon. The little Digimon then darted for Cody who then threw the wiring toward Thundermon to catch. When Thundermon tried to absorb the electrical energy, he felt his strength being pulled from him.

"All his power is being pulled into the ground, hit him now GeoGreymon!" shouted Cody.

"Right, Mega Flame!" cried GeoGreymon using his flames to engulf the electric Digimon in a stream of fire. Before long, Thundermon's Digital Code began to appear around his body.

"Lunch time is over for you, Digital Capture" said Michelle scanning the Digimon's code and trapping it into a card.

"Nice thinking with the wiring Cody" complimented Diandra as the teams partners returned to their rookie forms.

"It just came to me" laughed Cody.

"What's that under the spot where you shoved the wire?" asked Agumon pointing to the ground.

"I have no idea" said Michelle as she began to dig in the spot Agumon pointed at. After digging for a few moments, she pulled out a Topaz colored gem in the shape of a pyramid.

"Stone number seven" sighed Gabumon.

"Better take it back to HQ and add it to the others. Looks like the rain is coming to" said Cody taking notice of the black clouds looming overhead.

"I'll go put this with the others in the vault" said Michelle taking the newly found Elemental Stone to the buildings vault with Gabumon.

"Gonna go check on Ernie, catch you guys later" added Cody leaving with Agumon and heading toward the gym.

"What should we do?" asked Renamon

"We should go find Albert and see what Commander Aria wanted with him" thought out Diandra. She then recalled Renamon into her Digivice then headed for Commander Aria's office. Once Diandra reached Commander Aria's office, she noticed the door slightly opened enough to where she could see inside and not be seen herself. Diandra stared in confusion as she noticed Mayra whimpering in Albert's arms.

"Are you sure Commander Aria? Are you really sure?" questioned Albert, sounding very somber.

"We're sure; we lost contact with them for several days now. We thought it was nothing at first but now we know that as of early this morning, all three members of Lion Squad are no longer with us"


	24. Ch 24 Rain

_**Ch.24 Rain**_

At that moment, Diandra's heart dropped. She didn't even notice when she bumped into the door, swinging it wide open. The sound of the door hitting the wall caused Albert, Mayra, and Commander Aria to turn their attention to the doorway. Diandra just starred at them shaking her head in disbelief.

"No… no…" spoke Diandra in a faint tone.

"Diandra…" began Albert but it was too late. Diandra just turned and ran, wiping her tears as she sprinted down the hallway.

"Diandra, wait!" yelled Albert running after her.

"My poor cubs" sighed Commander Aria seeing Albert run after one of his partners.

"So how does it feel to be back on your feet again Ernie?" asked Cody as he, TJ, and the remaining members of Bear Squad walked down the hallway making their way to the cafeteria.

"Feels great, man. Can't wait to get back into my usual routine again." responded Ernie.

"I can't wait either, and we can get real food instead of that hospital food" added Agumon from Ernie's Digivice.

"It's not that bad" laughed Guilmon from TJ's Digivice. The group continued to make their way to the cafeteria when Diandra ran right through them causing them to scatter around the hallway.

"Watch where you're going Diandra" yelled Eric as Diandra continued to run down the hall.

"Yeah, we don't need to put Ernie back in the hospital" piped in Veemon.

"Hey guys!" called out Albert as he ran up to the group. He caught his breath for a second then spoke "Did Diandra just run by here?"

"Yeah, she just ran past us." responded TJ pointing toward the path Diandra just ran down "Why?"

"Can't talk now, need to find Diandra. Thanks" panted Albert running down the trail TJ pointed out.

"What's with them?" asked JR.

"Think something is up?" questioned Monodramon.

"Maybe, don't think I've seen Albert or Diandra act like that" answered Cody.

Michelle exited the Medical Ward and began to make her way down the corridor toward the library. While walking down the hallway she noticed Commander Pyro walking with Gerald toward the conference rooms ahead of her.

"Hi Commander Pyro. Hi Gerald." greeted Michelle as she caught up to the pair.

"Good afternoon Michelle, nice to see the rains not dampening your spirits" smiled Commander Pyro.

"Wet fur isn't nice fur you know" put in Coronamon.

"That's what I said" laughed Gabumon.

"Where you headed?" asked Gerald.

"The library, need to look over a few pharmaceutical books for Albert." answered Michelle.

"Does he have another theory?" questioned Gerald but before Michelle could respond, Diandra ran right into Commander Pyro causing her to stumble onto the ground.

"Got to be more careful Diandra" said Commander Pyro helping Diandra off the ground. Pyro's eyes widened when he saw the sorrowful look in Diandra's eyes. "You know, don't' you?"

Diandra looked at Gerald with the same look she gave Pyro then pushed past the trio and continued her run down the hallway. Before anyone could say anything Albert caught up to the group and panted "Diandra come by here?"

"She went that way," pointed out Commander Pyro "You know to don't you?"

"Albert, what's going on?" spoke Michelle quickly.

"I'll explain on the way" said Albert grabbing Michelle's hand and pulling her along as the pair chased after Diandra.

"Is there something big going down Commander Pyro" asked Gerald turning to his commander.

Commander Pyro just gave a heavy sigh and looked down at his pupil "Gerald, we need to talk"

"You can't be serious? This is just a test for all the DECA agents' right?" questioned Michelle sounding in complete shock.

"Nope, it's all true. I hate to say it but Lion Squad has gone MIA and the commander's are assuming they are…" responded Albert while the pair continued their pursuit on Diandra. He stopped speaking when he saw Edward and Emily standing up ahead, blocking their path.

"My, my, my. Where are you two running to?" spoke Emily.

"Yes, you two seem to be in a hurry." added Edward.

"It's cause we are" retorted Albert.

"Well we can't let you pass until you go back and walk this hallway. Diandra felt the need to run through here like an animal and we won't stand for such behavior." said Emily in a parental tone.

"Look, we don't have time for this. We're in a hurry" spoke Gabumon from his Digivice.

"These two need to catch up to Diandra" added Gaomon.

"We won't let you pass till you go back and walk down this hallway." said Edward slowly approaching the pair, trying to intimidate them with his tall stature.

"What part of 'We're in a hurry' did you not understand?" asked Albert sounding annoyed.

"Go back" ordered Edward.

"No," glared Albert.

"Go back" commanded Emily.

"We so do not have time for this" barked Michelle stomping on Edwards's foot. Edward grabbed his foot and howled in pain allowing Michelle and Albert to dart past the pair. The duo reached the entrance to DECA HQ and frowned when they couldn't see their fellow teammate anywhere.

"Something up guys?" asked Pricilla sitting behind the reception desk with Clarissa.

"Did Diandra run by here?" questioned Michelle.

"Actually yes, she just ran by here and took the elevator down to the garage. She looked really upset." responded Clarissa "Is something wrong?"

"I'll explain later. Thanks so much and if Edward and Emily try to follow us, please throw them off our trail" replied Albert calling the elevator by pressing a nearby button.

"Will do, what do you want us to tell them?" asked Pricilla.

"Be creative" smiled Michelle as both she and Albert entered the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed, Edward and Emily ran into the lobby looking very angry.

"You two" glared Emily turning her attention to the reception desk where Clarissa and Pricilla were sitting at "Where did Albert and Michelle go?"

"They mentioned something about heading up to the building's southern roof platform to find Diandra" responded Pricilla.

"I guess you two aren't so useless after all." sneered Emily as both she and Edward entered the newly opened elevator. Clarissa and Pricilla just starred at the two as the elevator doors came to a close.

"Wait a second, doesn't the southern roof platform have the broken door where you can only open it from the inside and not from the outside?" grinned Clarissa.

"Maybe" smiled Pricilla.

"If Diandra is heading for the garage then she's gonna leave the building. Who knows where she'll head after that" said Michelle catching her breath.

"There has to be one spot she'll head to. Somewhere with meaning…" thought out Albert. Albert and Michelle thought about it for a second then looked at each other with smiles on their faces.

"I know where she's going" spoke the two in unison.

It didn't matter how much the rain pounded her or how soaked she was getting. Diandra just pushed onward through the rain and into the city's central park. She tripped a few times as she ran down the stone pathway but picked herself up and continued her journey. It didn't matter if she cried out here. Nobody could see her and the rain would just cover up her tears.

"Diandra, you have to stop. This is getting dangerous!" called out Renamon but to no avail. Diandra just ignored her and continued to run through the pouring rain. After running for a few more moments, Diandra reached the very center of the park. The pathway opened up to make a large, circular shaped walkway around a tall fountain in the center of the area. Once she reached the base of the fountain, she fell onto her knees and wept to herself.

"Come on Diandra, it'll be ok" spoke Renamon.

"No… no… it won't be ok… he's gone… he's really gone forever!" screamed Diandra. She didn't care what she said; nobody other than Renamon was around to hear her.

"We don't know that for sure, maybe…" began Renamon.

"You heard it to, Lion Squad is gone! Ramiro is gone!" cried out Diandra.

"She's right D, we don't know what really happened to them" called out a voice. Diandra turned to see Albert and Michelle standing behind her. The duo held out their hands to help their friend off the ground.

"How'd you know I would be here?" asked Diandra getting off the ground with the aid of her partners.

"That's easy, you told us this was the place you first met Ramiro and the place where you two came on your very first date" responded Michelle with a smile.

"It's also the same place where we first met each other and formed Wolf Squad" added Albert.

"So many memories here, guess my mind was guiding me here. Guess… I have to add this memory… here too" stuttered Diandra before beginning to cry again. Albert and Michelle opened their arms and hugged Diandra while she cried.

"It's ok D, just let it all out" said Michelle.

"I can't… believe… he's gone…" whimpered Diandra.

"The Commanders are just assuming that because they've gone missing. For all we know, they could still be out there. I know Lion Squad is still out there, alive." assured Albert.

"And when we find them Ramiro will be back to fulfill his promise to you" continued Michelle.

"How do you guys know that?" asked Diandra, stopping her flow of tears.

"Cause we're gonna find them" grinned Albert.

"Together" said Michelle taking a step back and holding out her hand.

"Together" spoke Albert placing his hand over Michelle.

"Together" smiled Diandra adding her hand to the groups. All the squad's Digivices began to glow, releasing their partners who then put in their paws to the circle.

"Together" said Renamon, Gabumon, and Gaomon in unison.

Mayra stood alone on one of DECA's viewing platforms and stared into the grey skies. She suddenly turned when she heard the door open behind her. Albert had entered the platform completely soaked with rain water from head to toe. He joined Mayra by the window and gazed out into the darkened skies.

"We can't let them get away with this" growled Mayra.

"I know, Kroger, Edward, and Emily are gonna pay"


	25. Ch 25 Deleted

_**Ch. 25 Deleted**_

The sky above was still a darkened grey color. The recent storms had left the entire city soaked including the cities harbor. Three small, grey colored rabbit Digimon with a feral like appearance dashed through the harbor, weaving in and out of the empty warehouses trying to lose their pursuers.

"Howling Blaster!" cried out Garurumon sending is blue energy beam flying toward the stray Digimon. The energy beam barely missed its target allowing the fleeing creatures a chance to dash into nearby alleyway.

"Just missed them, the Gazimon are heading your way Albert!" called out Michelle, currently riding on Garurumon's back.

"On it" replied Albert as he and Gaogamon began to chase after the Digimon. The pair dashed after the Gazimon through the long alley way.

"This might slow them down, Spiral Blow!" howled Gaogamon sending his cyclone like attack whirling toward the feral Digimon. The Gazimon quickly turned a corner dodging the attack. The Digimon kept running until a sudden stream of flames cut off their escape route. Cody and GeoGreymon appeared on the other side of the flame wall and watched as the Gazimon stumbled backwards.

"Gotcha" smiled Cody readying his Digivice for a Digital capture. Albert, Michelle, and their partners caught up and appeared behind the Gazimon and readied their Digivices.

"Another capture complete" smiled Agumon looking up at the three blue cards in Cody's hand. The trio of DECA agents had regrouped then began to head for DECA HQ via their jeep.

"Yep, thanks for helping us out with this one Cody. Diandra hasn't been feeling up to missions after everything's that's happened" sighed Albert.

"No problem. How's she been doing so far anyways?" asked Cody.

"Alright for the most part, her poor heart has been through so much in the past couple of days" frowned Albert.

"I wouldn't worry about it, we're gonna find Lion Squad and everything will be back to normal" assured Gaomon.

"Got a plan to catch the rats yet?" questioned Gabumon.

"Just one" answered Gaomon.

"We have to let them slip up first before we can bust them. Problem is the waiting." added Albert.

"Oh yeah guys, check this out" spoke out Michelle pulling out an aquamarine colored gem shaped like a pyramid. "Found it in one of the cargo boxes Garurumon destroyed with his attack."

"Nice, we'll have to add it to the collection" said Agumon. After talking for a bit more, the trio reached DECA HQ and began to make their way up to the control room. Once there, the group saw Erin, Javi, Andrew, TJ, and Jackie all gathered around a nearby table.

"I'll take the stone and cards to the vault then catch up with all of you later" said Michelle taking the items and leaving the room with Gabumon. Cody and Albert recalled their partners back to their Digivices then joined with the group.

"What are y'all looking at?" asked Cody. Albert and Cody took notice of a small computer with rows of letters and numbers running across the screen. Several cables ran from the side of the computer to a small camera sitting on top of a glass dome and along the dome's sides. Inside the dome laid the old coded journal currently opened mid way through. Every few moments a small robotic arm would flip the current page to the next. "Ok, anybody want to explain what this is?"

"This is gonna decode that old book in no time" grinned Javi.

"Mantis squad rigged this device up to scan and translate the journal by taking pictures of the pages then analyze the photos. The analyzed photos are run by the translating program we set up the other day and the end product is displayed on the computer screen" explained Erin.

"Only problem is we can't see the full translation till the entire book has been decoded. However at the rate this is going, we'll have all we need by the end of the day." added Andrew.

"Pretty neat huh?" said Jackie.

"I say this is just a waste of time" spoke a voice from the other side of the room. The group turned to see Edward standing on the other side of the room, playing with a small pocket knife in his hands.

"Who asked you anyways?" glared TJ.

"Shouldn't you all be out doing missions, making up for the slack that Lion Squad has left behind?" questioned Edward.

"They didn't just get up and leave" snarled Agumon from his Digivice.

"Yeah, they're in trouble and for all we know this book can help us help them" added Guilmon.

"That squad is dead and gone for all I care or until proven otherwise" smirked Edward.

"You jerk!" yelled Jackie.

"Easy Jackie, he's not worth it" said Hawkmon trying to calm Jackie down. Before anybody could say anything else, the alarm went off signaling the appearance of a new Digimon. Albert went over to the main computer and analyzed the newly appeared Digimon..

"Looks like the rain has attracted a Roachmon" said Albert displaying a picture of a roach like Digimon on the screen. The Digimon stood up right and had several bands tied around its many limbs. "It's a champion level bug Digimon that can use an attack called Garbage Dump to bury its enemies in trash."

"Looks like it's appeared near the city's dump" added Erin typing away at a nearby computer.

"Me and my squad can handle this one, up for another capture Agumon?" asked Cody.

"Sure thing buddy, let me at him!"

"This place stinks" groaned Jackie. Falcon Squad had reached the city's landfill and were searching around the piles of garbage with their partners, trying to locate the insect Digimon. Suddenly, several balls of compacted trash flew over the teams head and crashed into the ground behind them.

"Think we found them" said TJ preparing his Digivice.

"Digi-Charge" called out TJ, Cody, and Jackie together.

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

"Pyro Blaster!" cried Growlmon launching his attack in the direction of the flying trash balls. The red energy sphere crashed into a pile of junk sending the Roachmon flying into the sky.

"You're not gonna get away, Blast Rings!" shouted Aquilamon knocking Roachmon out of the sky and sending it crashing into the ground.

"Mega Flame!" finished GeoGreymon scorching the Digimon with his stream of flames. A ring of data began to form around Roachmon giving Cody the chance he needed.

"Digital Capture" yelled Cody scanning the Digimon and transforming it into a card. Within a matter of seconds, the team had their Digimon sealed and captured.

"Great work guys" said Aquilamon returning to her Hawkmon form.

"Let's get back to HQ and turn this guy in, the day's almost up so the book should be fully decoded by now" smiled Jackie.

"Let's head on back then" said TJ leading the group back to DECA HQ.

Falcon Squad returned to the Control Room to find Javi typing away frantically at the computer the camera and book were attached to with Albert looking on. The team quickly ran over to Javi and Albert to see what was happening.

"This isn't right…Something's wrong, somebody tampered with the equipment" said Javi in a panic.

"Who'd want to ruin this?" questioned Albert.

"What's going on?" asked Cody.

"Somebody came while we were away and… whoa" shouted Javi, suddenly jumping away from the computer screen. Sparks began to fly from the computer while its screen began to flash on and off. The emanating sparks grew more and more, taking over both the computer and its attachments.

"Everybody hit the deck!" called out Cody as the team took cover. The agents ducked for cover just before the computer exploded setting off the rooms sprinklers to quickly douse the fire. Once the agents recovered and looked at site of the explosion, all that was left was the charred remains Mantis Squad's new invention.


	26. Ch 26 Message

_**Ch. 26 Message**_

"No way…" said Cody looking that the destroyed gadget. The emergency sprinkler system had turned off leaving the remains soaked along with the DECA Agents. Commander Aria and Aqua soon ran into the room and looked at the drenched agents in confusion.

"What happened here?" asked Commander Aqua.

"We don't know. We just left the computer to scan the old journal we found and when we came back it exploded" answered Javi, still spell bound over the recent events.

"Everything was working fine when we left it earlier." added Albert.

"Oh dear, we'll look into the surveillance videos tomorrow to see if anything might have happened to the computer while you all were away. For now, clean this place up and get some rest" said Commander Aria. The agents just nodded then began to look over the destroyed device. One of their hopes at helping Lion Squad obliterated.

The next morning in Cyber City brought the same cloudy grey skies. Word of the incident had spread to all the agents at DECA HQ. Diandra and Gerald seemed to take it the hardest. Their hopes at helping the ones they cared about most were now crushed. Gerald walked alone along one of the headquarters hallways looking up at the grey sky.

"Hey Gerald" greeted Ann as she walked up to Gerald in the hallway.

"Hey" replied Gerald glumly. The two began to walk together for a bit.

"It's ok Gerald, this route may have been closed but there can be others ways for us to find your brother" smiled Ann trying to cheer up Gerald.

"Yeah… right" said Gerald halfheartedly.

"She's right you know" piped in Coronamon from his Digivice "When one door closes another one opens"

"I just wish we had something to follow, something definite" sighed Gerald.

"We've been trying Gerald, we really have. I spent all morning watching the surveillance videos hoping to catch something. I might have found one clue though" said Ann.

"Really? What?" asked Gerald, his hopes slowly rising.

"The video seems to mess up at different times. It's either a glitch in the system or someone is trying to hide something" answered Ann "I'm sure I can figure it out if I study it a bit more"

"Would you two be so kind as to get out of my way" growled Emily approaching the pair, carrying several discs in her hand. Gerald and Ann stepped back and allowed Emily to pass.

"Thank you, I believe you two should go find work to do, make up for the slack Lion Squad left" said Emily coldly. Gerald clenched his fists and was about to respond when Ann put her hand on his shoulder and calmed him down.

"She's not worth it, trust me"

Emily continued to storm down the hallway until she ran into Andrew who had just entered the hallway, causing her to drop all her discs. Emily mumbled to herself as she quickly picked up the disks and left the hallway. Gerald and Ann ran up to Andrew as he kneeled down to pick up a stray disc.

"You ok?" asked Ann.

"Yeah, I'm used to Emily. Think she dropped this though" said Andrew holding up the disc.

"It looks like one of the video surveillance discs." spoke Ann.

"You don't think…" started Gerald.

"One way to find out" finished Ann making her way to the security room, Andrew and Gerald right behind her.

Mayra, Albert, Javi, Cody, and TJ were in the control room throwing away all the scrap metal leftover from the explosion into a nearby trash bin. Every now and then they'd let out a sigh seeing their great project destroyed.

"Think we can use the info we already recorded as a guide?"asked Mayra hopefully.

"We can't, everything was linked so when the new computer program was destroyed, it took the data we had with it." sighed Javi looking over the piece of metal in his hand then threw it into the bin.

"Well this sucks" said TJ.

"Tell me about it" spoke Cody.

"We'll find another way" encouraged Agumon.

"Yeah, we can figure out something new to try" added Terriermon.

"Does this look odd to you guys?" questioned Albert suddenly as he held up a set of cords. The cords looked like someone had cut straight through them, leaving their wiring exposed.

"Wait… that looks like to clean a cut to be an accident" observed Cody.

"Think somebody may have…" began Javi until he was cut off by the alarm. Mayra ran over to the main computer and began to type away on it revealing the newly appeared Digimon and its location. The main screen displayed a large, dinosaur like Digimon that stood upright with a green body and two large black tusks on its back. Red makings ran down the sides of the Digimon and its tusks along with a series of spikes on its back.

"Tuskmon, a champion level dinosaur Digimon, it's got an attack called Slamming Tusk where he skewers his enemies with those tusks on his back." read Mayra.

"We got this one" said Cody.

"I'll go call Jackie from the Medical Ward" spoke TJ.

"Wait, I'll fill in for her. Me and my partner could use the exercise" said Mayra suddenly.

"Ok, don't think we've seen your partner yet" said Guilmon from his Digivice.

"Looks like the Digimon appeared near the edge of town. I'll keep you posted from here" said Albert running over to the main computer.

"Alright, let's roll out guys" said Cody.

Tuskmon was already trashing the outskirts of Cyber City when the trio reached him. The rampant Digimon uprooted trees and crushed any fences blocking his path. The dinosaur Digimon just had the distant city in its sights.

"Let's go Agumon" said Cody summoning his partner.

"Time to work Guilmon" added TJ calling his partner out.

" Biyomon, you know what to do" finished Mayra releasing her partner from its Digivice. Biyomon resembled short, bird like Digimon with pink feathers and purple bands of feathers on her head along with a red beak. A taller purple and pink feather curled up on her forehead.

"Just leave it to me Mayra" chirped Biyomon sweetly.

"Digital Charge!" cried the trio of agents in unison.

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

_Biyomon Digivolved to… Birdramon_

Birdramon took to the skies the second she had finished Digivolving. She closely resembled a phoenix with flames surrounding her body. She circled the sky for a bit then took a spot next to GeoGreymon and Growlmon.

"I'll get his attention" said GeoGreymon charging for the stray Digimon and tackling it to the ground. Tuskmon tumbled across the land then collected itself. It tried to ram GeoGreymon with his tusks before being cut off with a swipe from Growlmon's tail. Tuskmon then turned his attention toward Growlmon and began to charge for him.

"This guy's got anger issues doesn't he?" spoke Growlmon dodging Tuskmon's attacks.

"Mega Flame" called out GeoGreymon trying to burn Tuskmon with his attack. The stream of flames just missed Tuskmon then gave the Digimon the chance to charge for GeoGreymon.

"Pyro Blaster" cried Growlmon trying to land a hit with his attacks.

"Want to end this Birdramon?" asked Mayra nonchalantly.

"I think I can manage that," smiled Birdramon taking to the skies. Birdramon flew over Tuskmon then began to flap her wings quickly causing several orbs of flames to appear in the sky.

"Meteor Wing" cried Birdramon with one last flap of her wings. Flames began to rain from the sky, pummeling Tuskmon and knocking him to the ground. Tuskmon's digital code began to appear around his body giving Mayra the opportunity she needed.

"Digital Capture!" yelled Mayra as she scanned the Digimon and transformed him into a card form. Mayra smiled as she looked over the card and was joined by Cody and TJ.

"Nice work" complimented Cody.

"Thanks" smiled Mayra.

"Looks like Tuskmon unearthed something" said Growlmon suddenly. TJ ran over to one of the areas Tuskmon had dug up and found another Elemental Stone, this one colored a grey, quartz like color.

"So now we have nine" counted out GeoGreymon.

"Let's head on back and store this somewhere safe then" said Cody as he looked over the newly found jewel.

"Looks like they got that Digimon under control" said Albert overlooking the computer screen. He then turned around and rejoined Javi in clearing the debris from the room.

"Almost done" sighed Javi.

"Yeah, let me just clear off all this ash" said Albert dusting off the ashes off the table where the translator once stood. He soon felt something hard underneath the pile of cinders. As he continued to dust off the residue, he began to reveal a book.

"Javi, take a look at this!" shouted Albert. Javi came over and saw the book slowly beginning to be revealed from under the soot. Albert continued to clear off the ashes to reveal a book that looked new. The old, worn down cover had been replaced and the pages mended. The cover was now black with ten odd symbols surrounding the DECA logo on the front.

"Wait, we put something old in the machine and when it exploded something new was formed? That doesn't' make any sense" thought out Javi, sounding very confused.

"I know…" said Albert flipping through the books pages "Looks like all the pages are blank… Wait! Hold on a second"

"What?" asked Javi

"Looks like there is one line written in here" responded Albert.

"What's it say?" questioned Javi looking at the page Albert stopped on.

"_The truth will start the healing"_


	27. Ch 27 The Journal's Secret

_**Ch. 27 The Journal's Secret**_

"So let me get this straight…" began Cody. Cody and Mayra had just returned from their mission and were with Javi and Albert in the DECA HQ control room. Mayra was currently flipping through the pages of the mysterious book while Cody tried to make sense of the situation. "The explosion actually created a new journal rather than destroy the old one?"

"That pretty much hits the nail on the head" responded Javi sounding confused.

"If I didn't have this book in my hands, I'd say the two of you have just lost it" sighed Mayra. "What does 'the truth will start the healing' mean though?" questioned Mayra.

"Your guess would be as good as ours" said Albert. The team heard the control room's doors open then turned to see Jackie and TJ enter, TJ still holding the newly found Elemental Stone in his hands.

"Couldn't find any of the commanders to take and store the stone in the vault" spoke TJ. "So what's going on here?"

"Yeah, I hear we had another weird thing happen" added Jackie. Albert took a few minutes to give details on the events to both TJ and Jackie. Once he was done explaining the situation, both Jackie and TJ looked baffled.

"That makes no sense…" said Jackie.

"We know" said Javi, Albert, Mayra, and Cody in unison.

"All the fun stuff happens around here doesn't it?" laughed Agumon from his Digivice.

"Let me take a look at that book…" said TJ reaching for the book. Once he grabbed the book with his hand, the Elemental Stone began to glow in a bright grey colored light. The light blinded the squad members for a few seconds before finally subsiding allowing the DECA agents to see again.

"Ok… what was that?" asked Hawkmon from her Digivice.

"The book and stone reacted to each other" answered Albert.

"Never a dull moment around here" input Guilmon humorously.

"Looks like the cover changed a bit" spoke out TJ suddenly as he looked over the strange journal. Upon looking over the book, one of the symbols was now colored grey instead of the gold color it previously was. The symbol appeared to be in a diamond shape with two lines running across from one end of the diamond shape to the other.

"Let me see" said Jackie taking the book from TJ. She then flipped through the pages of the book and stopped a few pages behind the first message they had found. "Looks like another message appeared in here"

"What's it say?" called out Gaomon. Jackie looked over the writing with an odd stare then read the message aloud as the teams gathered around her.

"_Guided by the our light, the destruction can be stopped"_

"Ok… that last part does not sound good" said Mayra.

"Hey, if one elemental stone revealed this message, think the other stones we found will show us more?" questioned Biyomon.

"That actually sounds very likely, let's go see if we can get the commanders to let us pull them out of the vault." said Albert. The group began to make their way to the exit but were halted when Professor Kroger entered the room. Albert quickly grabbed the book from Jackie and hid it behind his back before Kroger could take notice of it, TJ doing the same for the Elemental Stone.

"Ah, children, what may I ask are you all up to?" asked the professor.

"Nothing, just going to go recap our latest mission with the commanders" laughed Cody nervously.

"Oh, well I hate to disappoint you but Titan, Aria, Aqua, and Pyro are all away on business. Handling that nasty business with Lion Squad I'm afraid. They won't be back for a few days." said Professor Kroger.

"Oh ok, we'll just make a report then and leave it for them to read over later" smiled Mayra as her and the others shuffled past Kroger. They quickly made their way through the hallways of DECA HQ until they figured they were a safe distance from Professor Kroger.

"Alright guys, let the other DECA agents know what we found out and whatever you do, make sure Edward, Emily, and Kroger never find out about this. TJ, keep that stone hidden, I don't think we can trust any of the Krogers with it" said Albert. The group nodded with the idea then went their separate ways. The hope to unravel the mysteries of the journal and possibly finding Lion Squad had been renewed.

By the next morning, all the DECA agents knew about the journal and to keep it secret from any of the Krogers. Albert kept the book near him at all times while TJ found the perfect spot to keep the Elemental Stone hidden. The members of Falcon, Wolf, and Mantis squad had all gathered at one of the headquarters viewing platforms to talk for a bit.

"So there's hope in finding Lion Squad?" asked Diandra, a slight tone of excitement could be heard in her voice.

"I think so, I can't help but feel all these weird events are connected to each other" replied Albert.

"You guys will be happy to know we found some missing footage from the surveillance cameras yesterday." informed Ann.

"Turns out the disc Emily dropped yesterday had video of a shadowy figure entering the control room while our invention was scanning the old journal to mess with the wiring. We even saw how Ernie got drugged with that drink" continued Andrew.

"That same figure entered the guy's locker room and picked the lock on Ernie's locker. We saw it pull out a bottle of the vitamin water Ernie drinks and set it in his locker. Whoever it was got smart though, they wore a black cloak and had the hood up on both incidents so we can't say who it is yet" finished Javi.

"We're getting somewhere with that though, just need the nut that's running around causing problems to slip up" said Cody.

"And when that happens we can nab them" cheered Agumon from the Digivice. Before anybody could say another word, the Digimon alarm sounded in the building prompting the squads to dash down to the control room to see what new Digimon had appeared. Once they reached the room, Jackie quickly took a seat in front of the main computer and began to type away on the keyboard.

"Let's see what we got this time" said Jackie pulling up an image of the Digimon. The newly appeared Digimon had a grotesque looking form, covered in pale blue sludge. Pieces of metal and wires stuck out from the creature's body giving the Digimon a recognizable form. "This would be Raremon; it's a champion level Digimon. Its attack is just as disgusting as it is. Its Breath of Decay attack will melt down just about any substance. Looks like Raremon has appeared near the water treatment plant"

"We got this one" said Cody while TJ nodded at the idea.

"I want to go to, time for me and Renamon to get back out there and take missions again" smiled Diandra.

"Me and Gaomon will back her up" added Albert.

"If you four are going then I'll stay here and keep you posted on where the Digimon is heading" said Jackie turning her attention to the computer screen. Cody, TJ, Albert, and Diandra took off together to hunt down the stray Digimon.

"This place stinks" groaned Agumon. All the Digimon, along with their their human partners, had reached the water treatment plant and were currently searching the facility for any signs of the wandering Digimon. The vast reservoirs of sewage water being run through the canals and filters gave off a foul odor. The maze of pipes and walkways made finding the Digimon difficult.

"Just avoid thinking about it buddy. The sooner we find and capture Raremon, the sooner we can leave" said Cody.

"Find anything?" asked Diandra catching up to Cody and Agumon with Renamon by her side.

"Nope, nothing so far" frowned Cody.

"Uh… guys!" called out Albert. The pair quickly ran over to where Albert was standing to find him and Gaomon watching Raremon slowly make its way across a pool of clear water. The sludge from Raremon's body was mixing with the water making the once lucid water to murky to see through.

"Don't think that water is good to drink anymore" said TJ catching up to the team along with Guilmon.

"We better stop him before he can cause any more damage" added Guilmon.

"Let's do this then, Digital Charge" said Cody performing the usually movements with his Digivice.

"Digital Charge" called out TJ, Albert, and Diandra in unison.

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

_Gaomon Digivolved to… Gaogamon_

_Renamon Digivolved to… Kyubimon_

"This'll get his attention, Foxtail Inferno!" cried Kyubimon launching her barrage of blue flames from her tails onto Raremon. The impact from the attack cause Raremon to let out a loud moan then turned its attention to the group. Raremon stretched open its moth and sent out a stream of dark green colored sludge towards the squad members.

"Spiral Blow!" countered Gaogamon using his cyclone attack to knock the stream of sludge away from the team.

"Pyro Blaster" called out Growlmon as he sent his attack flying toward Raremon. The impact from the attack caused Raremon to dive under the murky water and find refuge from its attackers.

"You're not getting away, Mega Flame!" shouted GeoGreymon sending his stream of flames to surround the body of water. The intense heat caused the water to boil forcing Raremon to resurface with a large splash of water.

"Spiral Blow" added Gaogamon using his attack to collect the flames and send them onto Raremon's body. As the sludge covered Digimon moaned in pain, its digital code began to appear around its body.

"I'll wrap things up, Digital Capture" said Diandra quickly scanning the Digimon and transferring its data into a card form. Once the card was in Diandra's hand, the Digimon partners returned to their rookie forms.

"That wraps up things here" said Renamon.

"Check out what Raremon knocked out of the water" said TJ holding up an amethyst colored gem.

"Our luck is getting good at finding those stones, let's take it to the book and see if anything else appears" said Albert.

Back at DECA HQ, Cody, TJ, Albert, and Diandra met with Jackie in the parking garage almost immediately upon arrival. Jackie handed the book to Cody who then pulled out the purple colored Elemental Stone and held it near the book. The gem began to release a bright purple colored light for a few moments then returned back to normal. Another one of the gold symbols on the book's surface had changed to a purple color. The symbol appeared to be a trio of spiral markings in the pattern of a triangle.

"It reacted just like with the other gem." said Jackie.

"Check to see if any more writing appeared" spoke out Albert. Cody quickly flipped through the book's pages and found that a new message had appeared.

_The trio brings a curse, forcing light to become dark_


	28. Ch 28 The Figure in Black

_**Ch. 28 The Figure in Black**_

The members of Falcon, Wolf, Bear, and Mantis squad were working in the control room at DECA HQ the next day. The dark grey clouds outside the windows showed signs of more rain approaching later on in the day.

"When are the Commanders coming back again?" asked JR playing with his Digivice.

"This evening I think," answered Ernie messing with a nearby computer.

"Great, the sooner they get here the sooner we can use the other Elemental Stone on the journal" said Cody.

"Any progress on catching our rat Albert?" asked Eric hopefully.

"Not really," frowned Albert "I think we have the evidence we need. We just need something big to pretty much set the trap."

"At least you have the video footage to use" smiled Ann.

"Plus pictures of the damage to our translator with images of the sliced cables" added Andrew.

"Something will come along" assured Gaomon from his Digivice. The squads heard the doors to the control room open and turned to see Edward enter the room messing with a small pocket knife in his hand.

"Shouldn't you all be doing something useful around here?" asked Edward with his attention still on the knife in his hands.

"Funny, we could ask you the same question" replied TJ.

"I've been sent to retrieve this antique knife that grandfather left in his office." said Edward.

"For an antique it looks pretty new plus it looks burned on the side there" pointed out Diandra. The blade of the knife did appear to be slightly burnt though Edward quickly closed off the blade and pocketed the object.

"Wow, playing errand boy is so much more important than what we do around here" said Javi sarcastically. Mayra walked into the room and took a seat next to Albert as the others continued to argue with Edward.

"I don't need to be bothered by you peasants. If you'll excuse me I have return the nanotechnology books to grandfather" sneered Edward has he left the room.

"That guy really bugs me" said Michelle annoyed.

"I thought the nanotech books were missing" whispered Mayra to Albert.

"They are" replied Albert in thought. Before anyone could speak, the alarms went off signaling the appearance of a new Digimon. Albert and Mayra quickly typed onto a nearby keyboard and brought up the newly appeared Digimon onto the main screen along with its location. The Digimon appeared to be a rather large bird with jet black feathers. It had a set of sharp teeth emerging from its beak along with a set of sharp talons to match.

"Saberdramon, it's a champion level bird like Digimon. It fights with an attack called Mach Shadow which sends a shadow like form of itself to attack its opponents. It's appeared near the hillsides at the edge of the city. Better hurry up and catch it, looks like a pretty big storm is heading our way by night fall." read Mayra scanning the computer screen.

"We can handle this one" said Cody quickly heading out the door with Jackie and TJ close behind.

An eerie calm could be felt out at the hillside of Cyber City. The clouds seemed to be darker and the sound of thunder could be faintly heard in the distance. Falcon squad was surveying the area with their partners trying to spot the enemy Digimon.

"Where is that bird?" asked Agumon looking into the darkened skies.

"This would be so much easier if it was sunny," sighed Guilmon.

"It's around here somewhere" said Hawkmon flying over head. A strong gust of wind caught the team off guard as Saberdramon swooped down from above. The team managed to dodge the attack then recollect themselves.

"Crafty guy isn't he?" said Jackie.

"Let's get to work" spoke Cody as his Digital Aura began to form around him. The trio did the usual movements and cried out "Digital Charge!"

_Agumon Digivolved to… GeoGreymon_

_Guilmon Digivolved to… Growlmon_

_Hawkmon Digivolved to… Aquilamon_

"Blast Rings!" called out Aquilamon launching her attack then taking off after Saberdramon into the sky. Saberdramon managed to dodge the series of crimson rings then gave one great swipe with its wings sending out a pitch black silhouette of itself flying toward Aquilamon. Aquilamon barely dodged the attack then began to chase after the black feathered Digimon.

"Pyro Blaster!" shouted Growlmon launching his red colored orbs into the sky. Saberdramon gracefully flew through by the volley of attacks then sent her Mach Shadow attack flying toward Growlmon.

"Mega Flame!" exclaimed GeoGreymon dispelling Saberdramon's attack. GeoGreymon tried to direct his stream of fire toward Saberdramon but the bird Digimon could easily dodge the attack in the air.

"This guy is tough" said Cody examining the battle before him.

"We can't land a hit as long as it's in the air" added TJ.

"I think I got an idea" said Jackie suddenly.

"Really? What?" asked Cody.

"Just be ready to attack when I say so. Aquilamon, get Saberdramon to follow you!" instructed Jackie.

"Right, Blast Rings!" cried Aquilamon trying to gain Saberdramon's attention. The black bird Digimon took notice then began to chase after Aquilamon.

"Good, now fly toward GeoGreymon and Growlmon!" commanded Jackie.

"Ok, hope you know what you're doing" said Aquilamon flying low to the ground with Saberdramon in hot pursuit. The avian pair was drawing closer and closer to the duo of dinosaur Digimon.

"Guys, attack now! Aquilamon fly back up once you see the attacks coming" finished Jackie.

"Hope this works, Pyro Blaster!" shouted Growlmon launching one large red orb of energy from his mouth.

"Mega Flame!" added GeoGreymon adding to the attack with his intense flames. The two attacks combined with each other, creating a large ball of fire. Aquilamon snapped right back into the sky just in time to avoid the attack. Saberdramon had no time to react and took the full force of the two attacks. The invading Digimon was sent tumbling across the ground as its Digital Code began to appear around its body.

"Digital Capture!" called out Jackie quickly scanning the Digimon's code and sealing it into a card. To her surprise, the card was black. The team regrouped with her and their partners returned to their rookie forms.

"Great plan Jackie" complemented TJ.

"Yeah, that was perfect" added Cody.

"I can have my moment to" smiled Jackie. She then showed the two the strangely colored card. "Any idea what this means?"

"Oh, it's a Shadow Card. Javi told me abut it once. It means the captured Digimon was probably corrupt by a virus." explained Cody.

"It's defiantly a new one for us to see" said TJ looking over the card.

"We better head back to HQ guys, that storm looks like its getting closer." said Agumon pointing to the darker clouds close by. The team packed up into the DECA jeep and returned back to their HQ with the newly captured Digimon in tow.

Mayra along with the members of Falcon and Wolf squad all meet the recently arrived commanders at the vault. After explaining the situation to them they were quick to open the doors to the vault. TJ carried the Elemental Stone they had found the other day in his hands and Mayra held the journal close to her.

"If you kids are correct then we might be able to figure out what is really going on around here" said Aqua typing in the pass code to open the door to the vault. After the group heard a loud click, Commander Aria approached the vault door.

"Let's see what these stones can…" began Aria but she was cut off by a deafening explosion. The group was covered in a shroud of black smoke. TJ felt something quickly knock him across his face then take the Elemental Stone from him. The group recovered in time to see a figure totally dressed in black with a hood covering its head attempting to try to take the journal from Mayra. One quick kick from Mayra caused the figure to back away.

Commander Pyro took a quick glance into the vault then at the figure and took note of the large brown sack it carried on its back. "He's got all the Elemental Stones and captured Digimon cards!"

The figure observed the squad members closing in on it then sprinted out of the room. All the squad members chased after him. As they ran after the cloaked figure they could hear Commander Titan's voice ring from the intercoms throughout DECA HQ.

"There's a cloaked figure on the loose! If you see it, stop it at all costs!"

"See if you can slow him down Agumon!" called out Cody as he summoned his partner.

"Pepper Breath!" cried Agumon as he appeared. Several small balls of fire flew toward the figure but missed when the figure quickly turned a nearby corner.

"Renamon," called Diandra summoning her partner.

"Hawkmon," added Jackie calling her partner out to. The two turned the corner to see the figure still trying to make its escape.

"Diamond Storm!" spoke Renamon launching a flurry of small diamond shards flying toward the figure.

"Feather Strike" continued Hawkmon throwing the feather on her headband toward the figure. The cloaked individual avoided each attack then bolted down another hallway.

"I got an idea" said Mayra looking into a nearby room. She pulled Albert with her into the room while the remaining squad members continued to pursue the cloaked figure. They continued their chase until they saw the figure was stopped by Bear squad and their partners at the end of a nearby hallway.

"Got you surrounded" smirked Eric.

"Feel free to surrender now" added Monodramon. The figure pulled out a small orb from its sleeve and threw it to the ground. A bright flash blinded everyone in the hallway. As the squad members tried to recover from the attack, the figure leapt over the now stunned Bear squad and continued to make it was toward an exit.

"Can't let him get away" said Cody regaining his sight along with Agumon and TJ. The pair took off after the figure with Agumon continuing to try and land a hit with his flame attack. The figure was halted once more when Albert, Gaomon, Mayra, and Biyomon blocked off the door to a nearby elevator. The four of them held small vials filled with a clear colored liquid.

"Now!" yelled Albert throwing his vial toward the figure, the others did the same. The containers shattered upon impact, drenching the figure in a clear fluid. The figure tried to wipe off the excess liquid but was still covered in it. While it was distracted, Cody and TJ took the opportunity to tackle the figure and reclaim the bag with the stolen items. Surprisingly, the figure managed to shake the pair off but soon found it was trapped as the remaining members of Bear, Wolf, and Falcon squad caught up.

"End of the line buddy" said JR. the figure scanned the situation then pulled out another small orb from its sleeve. It threw the orb into the ground, causing another cloud of black smoke to cover the squad members and blind them. Once the group recovered, they noticed the figure had vanished but did not attempt to take the items again.

"Man, he got away" growled Ernie.

"No he didn't" smiled Mayra.

"Wait… what?" asked Cody confused.

"Tell the commander to round up everyone for a meeting. We caught our crook" grinned Albert.


	29. Ch 29 Culprit Caught

_**Ch. 29 Culprit Caught**_

Every squad had gathered into DECA's large conference room. The conference room was set up just like an auditorium with a low level stage at the very front of the room. One wall of the auditorium was made entirely out of glass allowing the city to be viewed from the room. Currently, only the raging storm outside could be seen from the massive window. Each squad had a designated table for the members to sit at plus a few extra seats along the edges of the room. One table at the very front of the room was designated for the commanders, marked with the DECA logo. The commanders took their spots in front while Kroger took a seat at one of the side seats near the window. Dr. Antonio and Veronica took a seat at the other end of the room with Louie sitting between them. Albert and Mayra came onto the stage quieting everyone in the room.

"Well, we're glad everyone could meet here so urgently. We feel that after the recent events, it's time we solve the little problem DECA has been dealing with over the last few weeks." spoke out Albert first.

"I hope you don't mind but Emily and Edward are away running an errand for me. They will be back shortly" said Professor Kroger.

"That's fine, they don't have to be here" smiled Mayra sweetly.

"To begin, fill in everyone here on what's been going on just so we are all on the same page" suggested Commander Aria.

"A few months ago, some equipment from our main lab disappeared. It wasn't too big a deal at the time since sometimes we accidentally break equipment then don't report it and order newer equipment to replace it. Heck, Mantis squad can't go a month without breaking something important in the lab" laughed Albert.

"One time… I break a welder one time and y'all never let me live it down" growled Javi as his squad mates chuckled a little bit.

"We brought that average up to every two months thank you very much" added Terriermon from his Digivice.

"Anyways, things started to get a little stranger when some computer files on old cases at DECA vanished along with all the books we have in the library on nanotechnology" continued Mayra. "Anything important about those books and files you'd like to share Erin"

"We don't have any records of the books being checked out and those files seemed to just vanish like they were deleted from existence. If I remember correctly, some of those books that vanished were pretty technically. If you studied one of them well enough, you could probably make your own robotic, microorganisms" answered Erin.

"Not many people here can actually understand those books" spoke a voice from Erin's Digivice

"Last thing to be reported stolen were some pharmaceutical drugs stolen from the pharmacy in our Medical Ward. Remember what they were Alissa and can you tell everyone what makes those really different from the other drugs we have stored there?" questioned Albert turning his attention to Shark Squad's table.

"Umm… I can't really remember the technical names for them but I do know almost all of the stolen drugs are very strong, powerful steroids and vitamin mixes. The last drug stolen was kind of a weird fit. That drug was a pretty strong sedative. The case reports I read on it say that people who are exposed to the drug have almost their entire body go numb minus systems necessary for living like their circulatory system and respiratory system. I think that covers it" responded Alissa though she sounded a bit nervous to talk in front of everyone.

"That's a great summary, thanks" smiled Albert.

"You're learning you're stuff pretty well" complemented Michelle.

"You're gonna give Michelle a run for her money soon" added Gabumon as Alissa just blushed a bit.

"Now that you summed up all the missing item reports, fill us in on the odd incidences that have occurred" instructed Commander Aqua.

"We can't talk too much about Lion Squad's disappearance since no one here other than the commanders know what their mission was. We'll get to that cloaked nut job running around here a little later. For now, we want to focus on the incident with Ernie and the little explosion with the translator Mantis Squad made" started Mayra.

"I'd tell you more about what happened if I could but I can't really remember much from that day" frowned Ernie.

"It's all still pretty fuzzy" spoke out Agumon.

"It's cool, we learned everything that we needed to know from your blood work" said Albert. "Turns out, small samples of those missing drugs were in Ernie's blood. Someone might think Ernie took these drugs himself then tried them but there's a problem with that idea. I bet Louie can point it out" said Albert.

"He can?" asked Patamon sounding confused.

"Oh, is it because only my mom and dad have access to those drugs along with the commanders and Professor Kroger?" answered Louie after thinking things out for a bit.

"Yep, that hit it right on the nose little buddy" spoke Mayra.

"Next up is the little incident with the exploding translator. When we looked over the burnt remains we found that…" started Albert before pointing to TJ in the crowd.

"The wiring was cut through with probably something sharp like a knife" responded TJ confused.

"The cut was to clean to be anything else" spoke out Guilmon.

"The recovered, missing surveillance footage showed a cloaked figure messing with the main wiring to the translator. That same figure was also caught picking Ernie's locker and spiking his vitamin water with what we can assume was a mix of the stolen drugs. So far we've only reported the facts but we have our culprit pretty much figured out right Albert?" said Mayra.

"That we do, Professor Kroger. Mind telling us how Edward could be returning books to you that were reportedly missing?" asked Albert.

"How about telling us how that antique knife he grabbed from your office for you was burned right around the blade. Like it had cut through something with an electrical current" added Gaomon.

"Better yet, why did Emily have the missing surveillance footage and say she was taking it to you?" finished Biyomon from her Digivice. Everyone in the room started to turn their attention to Professor Kroger. All Kroger did was let out a small laugh before he spoke.

"What active imaginations you kids have. The books Edward was picking up for me were going to be donations to the DECA library since our editions went missing. I found exact copies of them at a conference I went to a few months ago and ordered them. They were just delivered to me a few days ago. The knife is an antique from my childhood home; unfortunately a small fire broke out in my old home and managed to burn the blade. Luckily the fire was put out before any more damage could be done to that precious family heirloom. My dear granddaughter was able to discover that missing surveillance footage and I was going to personally analyze it to do my part in finding our dear Lion Squad"

"I'm afraid the evidence you have brought before us is not enough to incriminate someone you two" spoke out Commander Titan. The tone of his voice almost sounded disappointed.

"I figured that might happen so I have one more thing to show everyone." said Albert coolly. He pulled out a small vial from his pocket filled with a clear liquid then opened it and began to pour its contents all over his right hand. Mayra reached for a flashlight attached to her belt then held it for everyone to see.

"This flashlight is a little different from most, rather than producing white light it produces a black light. Pretty handy if you're doing CSI like investigations on the go." explained Mayra. She then turned her attention to Albert. "The liquid Albert just poured on his hand actually fluoresces when exposed to a black light. Oh, here's a neat bit of a trivia about it for you all. It can take about a month for that compound to be fully shed from human skin"

"Everyone that helped chase that cloaked figure to the elevators saw that me, Mayra, and our partners threw vials containing this same liquid onto our visitor, pretty much drenching him" said Albert. "Hey Clarissa, mind killing the lights for us?"

"Sure thing," smiled Clarissa flipping the light switches near her. Mayra switched on her flashlight and first shined it onto Albert's hand. His hand glowed in a bright green color when exposed to the black light. She then began to scan each person in the room with the black light showing that none of them of them fluoresced in the same way as Albert's hand did. Mayra finally reached Kroger and smiled when she shined the light on him.

"It's over Professor Kroger!" yelled Mayra as everyone saw the professor almost completely glowing in green. Clarissa quickly flipped the lights back on, everyone's attention, anger, and surprise all focused on Kroger. Professor Kroger began to laugh slowly then let it grow more and more until it became cynical. He clapped his hands as he walked onto the opposite side of the stage from Albert and Mayra.

"Congratulations kids, you managed to outsmart me. If only you had figured this out a bit sooner Lion Squad would be here with us" laughed Kroger.

"Where are they you sick, twisted, evil, little man?" roared Diandra. Michelle quickly grabbed Diandra before she could rush the stage.

"What the hell did you do with my brother!" barked Gerald. AJ and Fabian tried their best to pull back their squad mate.

"All in due time my dear children, I really thought I had all my tracks covered but alas, I was wrong. You two turned out to be quiet the detectives. I should have expected as much from the oldest members of DECA. It's a shame you three were split apart from the old squad all those years ago. The three of you were very, very strong back them" sneered Kroger.

"We still are," growled Albert.

"Really now? If that were so then figuring out and catching me should have been easy to do. Why did it take so long to catch me?" asked the professor. Albert and Mayra couldn't come up with an answer. They just continued to glare at Kroger.

"I took all those books from the DECA library then deleted all those files just to make sure nobody could figure our my plans. I had our faithful doctors order those rare medicines with the excuse that I was going to use them to improve our treatment protocols for our innocent, little teenagers. I let them sit around then managed to swipe them when the time was right. The little concoction I prepared with them for my research needed to be tested, and who better to test it than one of the more athletic members of DECA. After I spiked Ernie's drink, I had Emily remove the surveillance footage from the cameras. When I heard you brats found a fast way to decode that accursed journal I had Edward sabotage that, I must admit, creative machine. Little did I know you brats would be lucky enough to find the missing footage Emily edited to cover my tracks. Everything was set for my master plan but I needed to steal a few last minute items from the vault."

"I've always known you were creepy. This just proves it. Professor Kroger, we're putting you and your grandchildren under arrest for… well it would be easier to list what crimes you didn't commit." spoke out Commander Pyro.

"I'm afraid you can't do that, my master plan has just begun. Time to start the show!" cried out Kroger extending his arms. As if on cue the great glass wall shattered from a nearby explosion allowing the outside storm's winds to cause chaos in the conference room. Everyone was scattered to one side of the room by the explosion while Albert and Mayra were sent tumbling to the ground. Edward and Emily swung in from the shattered opening followed by three figures decked out in armor like, body suits. The suits were pitch black with a white colored stone on the chest plate and outlined in silver. The helmets appeared to have an almost, demon like appearance with tinted visors blocking the wearers face. Edward and Emily now wore a strange device on their right arms. The device was box like in design with a slot that appeared to have a deck of cards loaded into it. A red colored dome was situated on top and a slot that looked like it could shoot some type of projectile was on the front. The twins gave their grandfather a similar looking device.

"It's been fun peasants but we have much work to do" smiled Emily wickedly.

"We thank you for your hospitality. Hope you don't think ill of us" laughed Edward.

"If you'll excuse us, we have a few more tests to run in the city" spoke Professor Kroger pulling out a few small orbs from his pocket then quickly threw them to the ground. In a quick flash, Kroger and his twisted team had vanished. Michelle and Diandra ran over to Albert while Clarissa and Pricilla did the same for Mayra.

"I knew that guy was a monster" said Pricilla helping Mayra sit up.

"Tell us if anything hurts to move" spoke Clarissa checking Mayra for injuries.

"I'll be fine, don't worry about me" assured Mayra.

"You ok Albert?" asked Diandra sounding very concerned and helping Albert sit up.

"Anything hurt or broken?" asked Michelle checking his wounds.

"No… I'm fine…" groaned Albert. TJ and Cody ran down to the stage to help Albert stand. JR and Eric managed to get to the stage and help Mayra off the ground.

"This isn't over yet" growled Agumon.

"They couldn't have gotten too far" added Jackie.

"If we act quickly we can still catch them" spoke out Hawkmon.

"Squads, you did a great job tracking Kroger and exposing him. Now we need to…" began Commander Titan but was cut off. Multiple alarms were ringing all throughout DECA HQ. Commander Aria pulled out a palm pilot from her pocket and began to review each alarm. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor after reviewing some of the alert messages.

"We've got multiple Digimon appearances all throughout Cyber City. There have been Digimon appearances in the downtown distract, in the bay close to our building, and in the park in front of DECA HQ. I can't tell if these are all coincidences or if the Kroger's are responsible"

"Everyone, join up with your squads and split up to take care of each appearance Digimon break out. We'll stay here and get things back in order here at headquarters" instructed Commander Aqua.

"Make sure you give the Krogers some pay back if you run into them" added Commander Pyro.

"Sir yes sir!" shouted every DECA member in the room.


End file.
